A newly funded startup, Kangaroo, is introducing a gaming platform that enables fans to interact with celebrities from Hollywood to NFT projects and create new story games in the metaverse. This innovative technology allows for the creation of interactive online stories for and by the fan bases of celebrities, media franchises and NFT projects. Metaverse Storytelling App

Using its proprietary story creation engine, Kangaroo is set to release an endorsed series based on the likeness of each partner on iOS and Android. Fans can design their own avatars to play alongside the partner, and infinitely expand the stories using in-app story remixing tools. These fan-created ‘remixes’ may be shared on the platform and later on social media platforms like TikTok. Fan remixes can go viral on the Kangaroo ecosystem, and may earn a variety of rewards and prizes.

Kangaroo is also announcing it has closed $3.3 million in funding from top investors representing the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley and led by Human Capital. Other investors include Michael Ovitz, Greylock Partners, Abe Burns, Phil Hellmuth, Kevin Yorn, and more. The funds will be used to grow the team at Kangaroo and expand IP partnerships.

Partners collaborating with Kangaroo at its introduction include Kiernan Shipka, Hollywood actor as well as Kangaroo co-founder and advisor; Bailey Spinn, TikTok storyteller; Baby Ariel, TikTok content creator and actress; Woodies, an NFT project; PuffPuff, a virtual character on TikTok; and Flynn McGarry, a young celebrity chef. Other collaborators will be announced in the next few weeks.

“We have created a new way for fans to create community-driven stories with celebrities from all social outlets. Kangaroo empowers fans to use their creativity to gain fandom status and build a creative toolkit that can launch their careers,” said Katie Mishra, Stanford University student, company founder and CEO. “For our partner celebrities, franchises and NFT projects, this technology allows them to scale fan relationships, build deeper connections, and promote new initiatives effectively.”

The company was founded by three creative women focused on using stories to shape the future of fandoms and grow storytelling in the metaverse. Mishra, who has been studying computer science at Stanford, published three books growing up. Maria Zlatkova graduated in CS from Harvard and helped build the stories feature at Instagram. Shipka, the actor, started working in TV at the age of six.

“We believe in order to build a product that truly makes a difference for both creators and franchises and fans, it needed to be created by a team of founders that can empathize with all the stakeholders and have a deep passion to make the industry better,” said Baris Akis, co-founder and president, Human Capital. “We were impressed by the unique team Kangaroo has brought together, and their vision for shaping the future of storytelling.”

Says Mishra,

“Ultimately we want to enable community-powered storytelling, where fans use our story engine to co-create their own franchises, for which they maintain governance rights, have financial upside, and get creative exposure alongside our larger IP partners. In this launch, our community will be creating a storyline alongside our IP partners. By giving fans access to Hollywood they’ve never had before, Kangaroo is democratizing storytelling.” Metaverse Storytelling App