Putting on a virtual face for the internet

The world of virtual influencers enables users to produce creative content and live streams without having to show their real faces. They do this by creating virtual avatars, namely 2D or 3D characters that are designed to look like anime characters or other creative personas.

Kevin Mintaraga, CEO of Bythen, envisions virtual influencers as a tool to enhance individuality and creativity while providing users with unique digital personas.

He first noticed the growing trend of virtual YouTubers or VTubers in Japan, where companies managing these avatars saw significant success.

He also observed that social media users, especially those from the younger generation, preferred to maintain two separate accounts: one for their connections and another as an anonymous account that allowed for freedom of expression. But these accounts lacked the tools to go beyond basic text and commentary.

Becoming virtual influencers would enable these users to interact more freely with their followers, build public-facing personas that could transform them into influential figures and possibly monetize this presence through advertising and brand collaborations.

However, creating and managing a virtual influencer comes with high technical and financial barriers, says Mintaraga.

“There is a [high] barrier to entry for social media users to become virtual influencers … because they need to create the character, understand how to automate it and stream it. There is a lot of technical knowledge [required],” he explains.

“If today you were to decide [to become] a virtual influencer, you would need at least US$50,000 (RM223,000) to build all the assets, along with the context in which you would understand how to build [the virtual character]. The barrier to entry is very high. With Bythen, you are only paying US$100 to US$200 to become a virtual influencer.”

Bythen develops unique and proprietary digital characters that empower individuals to become influential virtual creators. The company provides users with the opportunity to generate creative content, livestream and transform their characters into their digital twins, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). This, in turn, enhances their online presence and enables them to monetize their influence.

The start-up also aims to make the creation of virtual influencers accessible and affordable for a broader audience by lowering the barriers to entry.

To do this, users can start by selecting a character that will provide them with a unique digital identity from Bythen’s digital store, which features a diverse range of designs, says Mintaraga. He adds that this can be done through the Bythen Pod Non-Fungible Token (NFT) or the Bythen Card NFT.

The Bythen Pod NFT grants users ownership via a blue-chip NFT collection such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Pudgy Penguins or Azuki. Users can connect their wallets that hold a blue-chip NFT and complete the purchase to buy a Bythen Pod.

Meanwhile, purchasing a Bythen Card NFT allows users to redeem a byte from an available Bythen collection, which equips them to automatically become virtual influencers.

Bytes, which are personalized AI agents that act as a digital twin of an influencer, represent the users digitally and allow them to interact across various gaming, music and other platforms, says Mintaraga.

“This AI agent is interoperable with many platforms and you can use it as your [digital] representation,” he adds.

Users can then customize their avatars by downloading Bythen’s mobile or web application by setting personality traits and dialogue styles and tailoring these characters to fit their vision. Currently, avatars cannot be custom-designed by users.

“You can add traits to your character and then it will be customized based on [your personality] and [how you present your character] to the public … you choose the character then you can put in memories: who you are, where you work, your family, your hobbies and interests and [the virtual character] becomes you,” says Mintaraga.

The company operates on a sharing-economy model where all revenue is shared with Bytes Hive, its creator community. Bytes Hive is designed to empower content creators and foster community growth within the Bythen ecosystem.

For instance, users can gain access to Bythen’s creator development program to improve their content creation abilities, build a strong social media presence and effectively engage their audience. Furthermore, users can earn daily stable coin rewards through active participation in the Hive program.

On Jan 14, Bythen raised US$5 million in a seed round led by Vector Inc and Skystar Capital, with backing from East Ventures, Beenext, OSK, AppWorks and notable angels such as Tokopedia co-founder William Tanuwijaya and Pinkfong co-founder Ryan Lee.

With this funding, Bythen plans a global launch, targeting 15,000 virtual influencers across Web3, gaming and other sectors. It will also debut its first original intellectual property (IP) collection and collaborations with major international IP owners in the coming months.

Putting it together

Once users have obtained their virtual characters, they can livestream as their characters or set their AI avatars to stream independently, says Mintaraga. This means that virtual influencers can choose to engage audiences through live streaming platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and Google Meet. Users can choose between two modes, which are the user-controlled Byte and AI-powered Byte.

“The first [option] is for me to become my [virtual] character as I stream. The second [option] is for my AI to stream [all day] using the personality that was created,” he explains.

Blockchain technology underpins the platform by providing proof of ownership through NFTs. This is as each character is represented by an NFT, which grants the holder ownership rights of the IP of the virtual influencer.

Bythen provides users with content generation tools that enable them to script and produce creative content using their avatars. The company also developed a proprietary system that combines multiple Large Language Models (LLMs) to optimize performance, accuracy and cost.

The company’s proprietary elements include IPs, 3D assets and a wrapper that combines multiple LLMs. The AI wrapper incorporates emotional recognition, which makes interactions with virtual influencers feel authentic and human-like, says Mintaraga.

“[The wrapper] wraps different LLMs like ChatGPT, Mistral and Lamda. LLMs is a game changer. Each LLM has its own unique strengths and keeps leapfrogging each other. We are combining it to make sure that we get the most accurate response at the fastest rate and affordable cost.

“At the end of the day, we are like a sushi restaurant. We outsource the best ingredients from all around the world to make the user experience very easy,” says Mintaraga.

Developing these requires expertise in character design and animation, Web3 development, Web2 engineering and IP development, he adds.

The platform also prioritizes user privacy, especially for Web3 users, where anonymity is a core principle. For instance, users can log in using a connected crypto without requiring emails or passwords.

So, the company is developing systems to strike a balance between protecting privacy and ensuring accountability within the ecosystem.

Mintaraga says the company implements guardrails to filter sensitive topics such as explicit content, hate speech and misinformation. Additional measures are being developed to manage risks and maintain a safe and respectful environment.

“When it comes to guardrails, all the sensitive topics, we avoid it. [This includes] anything related to explicit content, alcohol or tobacco,” he says.

This means that streaming and content creation will be monitored through mechanisms such as blacklisted keywords, says Mintaraga. Users who violate community standards will receive warnings before their accounts are banned.

In the future, Mintaraga hopes to make virtual influencers more lifelike and emotionally responsive by focusing on aspects such as character animation and interaction.

“The reason we have [confidence in] virtual influencers is because I believe that we are moving into a world where individuals with unique talents can have a global clientele with social media … our thesis is that avatars will become commodities, and when they become commodities, we want to be known as a premium [company] with strong IPs and user experience,” he says.

The original article was published on The Edge Malaysia, on 10 February 2025.