UK startup Unit1 raises $20m to stage gigs with hyper-realistic digital avatars
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-20
UK music tech startup Unit1 has raised $20m (£15m) from investors including Balderton Capital, whose partner Daniel Waterhouse backed Spotify early. Founder Barney Wragg formerly ran Andrew Lloyd Webber's entertainment group. The company builds hyper-realistic avatars: digital versions of living artists no longer touring, and recreations of dead musicians using archive footage blended with lookalike actors and musicians captured via motion capture. A pilot with KT Tunstall recreated her two-decade-old Jools Holland performance in a London studio. The goal: a cheaper, venue-agnostic alternative to shows like Abba Voyage.
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