Genies is Building The Visual Layer for LLMs

Forbes

10-07-2025

Genies is making a major move to realize its long-held vision of the future where AI, gaming, and immersive tech collide, with avatars becoming the connective tissue. Today, the company announced a partnership with Unity (NYSE: U), the leading platform to create and grow games and interactive experiences, to integrate its Smart Avatar Framework and UGC tools into the Unity Editor.
Genies are avatar agents with personalities that know you and track with you across platforms.
Founded in 2019, Genies has raised $200 million from backers including Bob Iger, Mary Meeker's Bond Capital, and Silver Lake. While AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic focus on building the smartest 'brains,' Genies is focused on creating the 'body and soul', the visual and behavior identity layer that gives AI personas presence and emotional depth. 'The brain is being solved,' Genies CEO Akash Nigam said in an interview. 'What is missing is the interface, what people emotionally connect to.' That persistence is what positions Genies as the connective tissue between language models and embodied digital characters.
There's no denying AI companions are reshaping our world and quickly becoming part of everyday life. With Genies Smart Avatar technology, AI companions aren't confined to scripted responses or static chat windows. They're able to become part of the world around us - fully present, learning, playing, reacting and adapting in real time. Genies envisions a future where these digital entities evolve into something uniquely their own: not just machines or simulations, but companions that grow alongside us. Genies' Smart Avatars reflect this vision, combining UGC customization tools with personality and behavioral technologies to enable users to experience AI in ways that feel more alive and personal.
'The big AI companies are focused on solving intelligence,' Nigam said. 'We're solving presence. If you want people to fall in love with AI personas, they need to be more than smart. They need to be something you can feel, connect with, and grow alongside, not just a voice in your head or words on a screen. Real friends aren't chat boxes. You build trust with someone you can see, play alongside and laugh with, someone fully expressive, visually present, and playfully interactive. That's what it takes to turn AI into real companionship.'
Genies' frameworks combine stylized, customizable 3D models with AI-driven personalities and behaviors. Their tools let users fully customize their avatars' appearance, while personality frameworks enable dynamic AI behavior that adapts over time. And because everything is game-ready, these avatars are fully rigged, animated, and built to jump right into experiences. Its avatars are designed to be intelligent and expressive, allowing them to react and evolve in real time based on the context of conversations and interactions a user might have with their Smart Avatar.
FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™
Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase
Pinpoint By Linkedin
Guess The Category
Queens By Linkedin
Crown Each Region
Crossclimb By Linkedin
Unlock A Trivia Ladder
As Nigam put it, 'While much of today's AI is built for productivity, Gen Z and Gen Alpha will engage with AI in ways that are fundamentally different from what's currently available on the market. For them, AI won't just be a tool, but a social presence. Think about the way people engage with platforms like TikTok or Instagram: you open the app with no clear intention, just to be entertained, to explore, to connect. We've developed our Smart Avatars with that same philosophy, where you don't show up with a task in mind, but instead engage casually, like you would with a close friend.'
'That's where games come in and why this Unity partnership is a major milestone,' added Nigam. 'As AI companions become part of everyone's day-to-day, people will want a deeper experience where they can do things with them, not just talk to them.' By bringing Genies' technology to the world's largest game development community, this collaboration empowers creators to build a new generation of AI-driven experiences, marking the beginning of a new era for AI companions in interactive entertainment.
For developers, the partnership allows them to bring automatically rigged, emotionally intelligent avatars into their games and integrate the Genies' full stack of customization, behavior modeling, and UGC tools directly into their workflows. This reduces the time spent on character creation and rigging, while unlocking entirely new genres of AI-powered games - from companion-based narratives to persistent AI NPCs that players can build relationships with over time.
'Game developers today are under pressure to move faster without sacrificing their creative edge,' said Adam Smith, SVP of Product at Unity's Engine team. 'Integrating Genies' AI avatars and UGC tools into Unity helps them streamline development while unlocking creativity through rich, personalized games.'
Genies is already partnering with some of the biggest IPs in entertainment, gaming, and sports, bringing iconic characters and personas to life as fully interactive AI companions. Through Parties, IP-owned social gaming platforms, these characters can be introduced in ways that let fans go beyond passive engagement, forming ongoing, dynamic relationships. Through the Unity partnership, creators will have the opportunity to build unique games and experiences around these IP-driven Smart Avatars. Creators can co-create and personalize their experiences, much like what we've seen in platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, but with even deeper, more personalized immersion.
Nigam believes AI companions will become embedded in daily life, persistent presences that live across devices, environments, and realities - especially with the growing AI and XR hardware landscape. 'Picture brushing your teeth in the morning,' he said. 'You look in the mirror, and your AI companion is sitting on the counter next to you giving you a playlist to motivate you for the day, advice on what to do with a relationship issue, a new recipe to try later for dinner or pointing out a peaceful hidden spot nearby to read your new book. That's where we're headed.'
Genies has been building towards something far more personal and culturally resonant than its peers, to the extent there are any. InWorld is working to bring AI characters to video games. Ready Player Me has raised $69 million to expand its platform with developer tools, and build more services for creators.
Genies Smart Avatars are unique in combining stylized visuals generated through AI tooling, memory through data capture, and real-time behavioral animation that adapts to users. In gameplay, this means your avatar cheers when you win, sulks when you fail, celebrates victories, and evolves based on who you are.