With $4M in Funding, AR app will “Beem” Users into the Metaverse

LONDON, February 17, 2022 – Beem, a cross-platform AR streaming and communications app, is announcing the early availability of its highly-anticipated consumer AR app, backed by US$4M in seed funding from 5 Lion Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Grouport Ventures, Inertia Ventures, Lior Messika, among others. Available on both the App Store and Google Play, Beem is introducing a revolutionary platform that already enables one-way live and pre-recorded communication in AR and will evolve into the standard for live, two-way telepresence using AR.

This investment follows Beem’s pilot projects that, using patented technology, enabled the company to develop human-centric AR environments for leading brands including Vogue™, LADBible in partnership with KSI and Craig David, The British Army, Carolina Herrera and Warner Music.

Beem is designed as an AR-native platform, and enables users to seamlessly scan and create a digital recording of themselves that can be shared with friends and family through their favorite messaging apps. These recordings can be viewed immediately by recipients on their mobile browser using WebAR. This gives both the sender and recipient of a Beem message the unique chance to see and interact with a full digital self that’s realistic and conveys the feeling of being in the same physical space.

With Beem, users can even host AR “conferences” similar to Zoom calls, streaming  holographic versions of themselves to up to 25 people, with two-way audio.  Or they can launch a one-way livestream to millions of people, akin to YouTube or TikTok, but in an AR environment.

Early users of Beem, including popular TikTokers like Lev Cameron, Jake Joseph Everett-Rose, and Michael Fallon, have devised creative ways during the pandemic to keep connected with loved ones or to entertain. By sending their digital likeness to family members, Beem users could “participate” in family photos that they weren’t physically present for. And, for Valentine’s Day, users are sending Beems of themselves in lieu of Valentine’s Day cards.

But for Beem, this is just the beginning. As mobile consumers embrace Augmented Reality through AR applications on their smartphones – and on AR glasses in the near future – they’re searching for more intimate ways to keep connected with friends and family, even if it’s through the lens of their mobile devices. In fact, in pursuit of its forward-thinking mission, Beem is developing the tech for two-way live communication via AR glasses. 

“As AR adoption accelerates, and the metaverse jumps from science fiction to reality, we’re excited to offer today’s mobile users a glimpse of an inevitable future that combines our physical selves with the metaverse through Beem,” said Janosch Amstutz, CEO of Beem. “We’re excited that we’re backed by amazing investors who understand and share our vision of enhancing  intimacy and improving communication effectiveness by connecting people through AR.”

“Innovation across AR is creating tremendous opportunities for a variety of different markets, and the potential for AR’s impact is colossal. Beem’s technology creates the infrastructure through which AR can become truly accessible – and viral. The global shift to digital is occurring fast, and Beem is at the forefront,” said venture capitalist and Beem investor, Lior Messika.

With its seed funding, Beem plans to expand its team while further developing its solution for two-way live telepresence in readiness for AR glasses launching in consumer markets.

Learn more about Beem at http://beem.me

Access Beem’s press kit here

Download Beem on Google Play or the App Store

About Beem

Beem, founded in 2017 by Janosch Amstutz, is the first AR-native mobile communication company on a mission to cultivate intimacy between human beings on digital platforms. Getting its start by piloting human-centric AR experiences in partnership with Vogue™, LADBible in partnership with KSI and Craig David, The British Army, Carolina Herrera and Warner Music. Beem has since launched its messaging and communications consumer app that uses its own proprietary patented technology to enable two-way AR communications on smartphones and AR glasses in the most credible and immersive way possible. The company has since raised a total of US$4M in seed funding to-date from 5 Lion Ventures, Ascension Ventures, Grouport Ventures, Inertia Ventures, among others.