Mango, a leading European fashion group, reinforces its dedication to technology and investment in Troop Avatars — a digital identity platform and avatar development initiative offering styles ranging from hyper-realistic to more stylized representations. The investment is structured as a company participatory loan convertible, signaling Union Avatars’ entry into the accelerator program and the activation of StartUp Studio, the company’s startup accelerator. Through this program, entrepreneurs gain direct insight into Mango’s operations and receive resources to scale their business models effectively.
As part of the initiative, Unity will also provide Avatars mentoring and counseling sessions led by Mango’s team of professionals. These sessions cover market insights and the integration of technology into the business model, empowering ventures to align with current industry trends. In parallel, Mango will continue exploring a slate of pilot tests aimed at refining the creation of hyper-realistic avatars that can be deployed across various stages of the company’s value chain.
Since its inception in 2022, Mango StartUp Studio has carried out its fourth investment round. The accelerator has progressively accumulated a diverse portfolio, including i healeda sustainability project focused on resale of surplus fabrics, a payment flow solution with voluntary and flexible compensation, and a charming platform for renting party dresses and accessories. [citation]
Union Avatars was established in 2020 with a mission to help organizations and users shape the future of digital identity. By enabling avatars that blend different styles across social networks, virtual reality environments, and gamified experiences, the platform facilitates identity interoperability across multiple ecosystems. In September 2022, the venture capital fund GoHub Ventures, part of the Global Omnium group, joined a €1.2 million investment round led by Inveready and advisory firm FI Group, signaling strong support for cross-platform digital identity initiatives. [citation]