CJ ENM buys stake in US metaverse firm Hyperreal

South Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM Co. has acquired a minority stake in US metaverse entertainment and media firm Hyperreal Digital Inc., the Korean company said on May 2. CJ ENM didn’t disclose other details of the deal.

Hyperreal was founded in 2019 by Remington Scott, a computer graphic imagery veteran who worked on the characters and visual effects creation for world-famous films, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Spider-Man 2.  

CJ ENM made the investment in a bid to expand its digital business related to the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Through the deal, the Korean entertainment giant will have access to Hyperreal's HyperModel technology, to create a realistic 3D digital human that can be any age, speak any language and perform in any digital media environment including film, TV, video games and artificial intelligence platforms.

Using the technology, the New York-based media firm created a HyperModel of US singer Madison Beer for a metaverse virtual concert held by Sony Music Entertainment and Verizon in January 2021. It also co-produced the music video Find My Way last July, which stars a digitally de-aged version of Beatles legend Paul McCartney.      

“Securing technologies for metaverse, such as virtual human and augmented reality, is essential to intensify our competitive edge. We will strengthen our future growth engines and continue to invest in related technologies," said CJ ENM Chief Executive Kang Ho-seong in March.

CJ ENM set up a new division for future business strategies in March and is accelerating its digital business. The Korean entertainment company has collected a massive volume of intellectual property (IP) content to expand its NFT business.

The new division’s strategy and planning team will develop metaverse and NFT businesses, while the open innovation team will be responsible for investment in local and overseas startups with advanced digital technologies.

Last November, CJ ENM opened its television and film production studio complex in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province last November. A virtual studio within the complex uses extra-large LED displays and connecting cameras to create virtual settings in real-time, which saves time and reduces image compositing and on-location production costs. The Korean entertainment company plans to converge content from the studio with new technologies such as the metaverse to offer extended reality (XR) performances in the future.

Write to Hee-Kyung Kim at hkkim@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.