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t the beginning of my journey researching and defining the virtual influencer industry, in 2018 when I first heard about Lil Miquela, mainstream articles initially led me to believe only six virtual influencers existed: Lil Miquela, Bermuda, Blawko, Shudu Gram, Noonoouri, and Imma Gram.
At the time, the majority of journalists reporting on this nascent space made a habit of depending on the writing of other journalists to serve as their primary source of information, regurgitating insights while adding conjecture about how virtual humans were taking jobs, how AI influencers were making millions, or how Lil Miquela was the first-ever virtual influencer (none of which is true).
There was a severe misunderstanding about the industry's operating reality, about the many virtual personalities inspiring the market (Ami Yamato, Ion Gottlich, Lu, etc), and about the opportunities getting generated for creators, developers, and brands alike.
Click-driving pieces about the phenomenon published left and right, with everyone needing to have their say, but most of which were not wholly productive for readers in need of actionable information.
After over a year of doing my own research in my free time, taking note of everyone I encountered, and finding myself unable to depend on the regurgitated headlines, I decided to aggregate and publish what I knew, shining a spotlight on the creators and teams defining the industry—all of them, not just a select few.
A virtual influencer is a digital character created in computer graphics software, then given a personality defined by a first-person view of the world, and made accessible on media platforms for the sake of influence.
The first version of Virtual Humans featured some 40+ virtual influencers, which is why it's exciting to say that today, in just the last few months alone, we have discovered 27 more virtual influencers to add to our growing list. I'd like you to meet those newfound virtual influencers today:
Meet PBHere
Total fans: 1M+
PB is a character trapped in a mysterious facility whose story slowly unfolds over TikTok. His storyline has captivated many fans and been the subject of YouTube conspiracy videos before coming to a close on December 1, 2021.
Meet Ember
Total fans: 563k
Ember is the spawn of Satan… literally. She’s the teen daughter of the devil himself who loves to snoop through his work computer and cause chaos for her father.
Meet Rim
Total fans: 322k
Rim is another virtual idol from Kamistubaki Studios, creators of the virtual Kaf.
Meet Luks
Total fans: 272k
Luks is the Metaverse avatar of popular Brazilian content creator Lucas Rangel. He was made using the MetaHuman Creator.
Meet Synthia
Total fans: 178k
Synthia is a former AI assistant moving to Hollywood to make a name for herself. Her goal is “to bring entertainment and enlightenment, and if not both, then at least one at a time.”
Meet Lola
Total fans: 96k
Lola describes herself as a “human being wannabe.” She mainly posts inspirational content to her TikTok account where she has the most followers.
Meet Katii
Total fans: 81k
Katii (pronounced Katie) is a virtual model from Thailand. She recently starred in a campaign for Calvin Klein Thailand.
Meet Eternity
Total fans: 71k
Eternity is a 11 member AI idol group from South Korea. Each member has an AI generated face and with a distinctive character type.
Meet Emily
Total fans: 68k
Emily is the brand mascot for Wirtual, an NFT project that allows users to earn cryptocurrency for completing workouts.
Meet Pop Me
Total fans: 68k
Pop Me is the personification of the popper fidget toys popular among children.
Meet Zero
Total fans: 65k
Zero is a cyborg trapped in a bunker in The Nexus Universe. In just a few short months since he mysteriously woke up on the floor of his bunker, he has partnered with Samsung, blown up on TikTok, and now streams three days a week on Twitch.
Meet Kyra
Total fans: 54k
Kyra is a virtual model from Mumbai, India.
Meet OvaDozu
Total fans: 50k
The adorable rabbit backup dancers to the popular virtual APOKI.
Meet Eli and Sofi
Total fans: 40k
Eli and Sofi are two twin virtual influencers from Italy.
Meet Satiko
Total fans: 28k
Satiko is the avatar of Brazilian broadcaster Sabrina Sato.
Meet Theo
Total fans: 27k
Theo is a half-Brazilian half-Korean virtual influencer who lives in Brazil.
Meet Rina
Total fans: 24k
Rina is a virtual influencer from South Korea created by Metaverse Entertainment.
Meet Nina
Total fans: 17k
Nina is a virtual girl from another world mysteriously transported into ours. She has a pet robot named Avo who accompanies her.
Meet LaTurbo
Total fans: 9k
LaTurbo Avedon is a virtual avatar and artist who recreates themself through various video games.
Meet Ophelia
Total fans: 7k
Ophelia is a virtual alternative model who often wears avant-garde digital fashion.
Meet Jordan and Justin
Total fans: 3k
Jordan and Justin are two brothers from South Africa with a pet elephant named Mr Gooby.
Meet Vandad
Total fans: 2k
Vandad is a virtual avatar with a toon shader style from Morocco who vlogs for his audience.
Meet Mia Camilla
Total fans: 2k
Mia is a character created using NFTs from the project Crypto Idols.
Meet Nefele
Total fans: 2k
Nefele is a digitally imperfect model from Italy with vitiligo, a skin condition which causes people to lose pigmentation on certain parts of their body.
Meet Woori
Total fans: 1k
Woori is a digital model from South Korea.
Meet Mina
Total fans: 1k
Mina is the virtual CEO of IPShop, a South Korean company.
Meet Ria
Total fans: 1k
Ria is a virtual influencer created by NEOENTDX known for wearing traditional Korean dress called a “hanbok.”
