Facemoji
Acquired4 known investors
Facemoji built a plug-and-play SDK letting game and app developers add 3D avatars; it rebranded as Alter and was acquired by Google.
Also known as Alter
Investors · 4
Also in the syndicate · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Facemoji was an avatar technology company headquartered in New York City that built a plug-and-play avatar system for game and app makers. Its core product was a free SDK that allowed developers to add immersive 3D avatars and profile-picture experiences to apps and games with a few lines of code, supported by a proprietary lightweight rendering engine and an in-house machine learning pipeline. The company also had a diverse library of avatar art that developers could use out of the box, and planned to release a Figma-like 3D content creator with an NFT collection generator through a self-serve platform called Facemoji Studio.
The company positioned its technology as an alternative to competing solutions that depended on Unity plugins, which the team said many developers preferred to avoid. Beyond gaming, Facemoji's leadership described ambitions for avatar use in video calls and classes via live-action avatar overlays, and for plug-and-play NFT storefronts through which end users could buy accessories for their avatars. The company was led by CEO Robin Raszka and COO Jon Slimak. It later rebranded as Alter, operating out of the United States and the Czech Republic, and was acquired by Google for approximately $100 million in a deal completed around mid-2022 and reported in October 2022.
Business model
Facemoji distributed its avatar SDK to third-party game and app developers free of charge, with plans to open a self-serve platform, Facemoji Studio, offering a 3D content creation tool and an NFT collection generator, plus plug-and-play NFT storefronts through which developers' users could purchase avatar accessories.
Traction
The avatar system had over 1 million users while in testing with a select group of partners as of the October 2021 seed announcement, with several major partner integrations reported as lined up.
Latest developments
Google confirmed in October 2022 that it had acquired Alter, the company that began as Facemoji, in a deal a source valued at about $100 million and said had closed roughly two months earlier. Neither company had publicly disclosed the transaction, and Google planned to use the technology to expand its content offerings in competition with TikTok.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, risks & controversies
Market position
Facemoji operated in the avatar infrastructure market, viewing Snap as a more relevant competitor than Apple, which it did not expect to open Memoji to developers. Coverage noted consolidation in the segment, with Roblox acquiring Loom.ai and Epic Games acquiring HyperSense in 2020, and Facemoji itself was ultimately acquired by Google after rebranding as Alter.
Its rendering pipeline was independent of Unity, which the company framed as a barrier for many developers, and it let game makers build their own avatar systems rather than plugging into an external cross-platform avatar network. A pre-built, diverse avatar art system was available out of the box.
Technology
The platform relied on a proprietary lightweight rendering engine and a custom machine learning pipeline developed in-house, rather than on Unity plugins used by other avatar providers. It shipped with a ready-made library of diverse avatar art and supported 3D avatars and profile-picture experiences integrated via a few lines of SDK code.
Go-to-market
The SDK was initially tested with a select group of partners before wider developer availability, with several large partner integrations lined up; seed funding was directed at expanding partnership efforts and R&D, and a self-serve Facemoji Studio platform was planned to broaden developer access.
Game and app developers wanting to embed avatar systems in their products, including large studios constrained by Unity-dependent alternatives, along with creators interested in 3D content and NFT-based avatar accessories.
Geography
Headquartered in New York City at the time of the 2021 seed round; after the rebrand to Alter the company was described as U.S. and Czech-headquartered.
Risks & controversies
The acquisition by Google was not publicly announced by either party and financial terms were not confirmed by Google; the $100 million figure comes from an anonymous source. Company leadership also emphasized an orientation toward web3, NFTs and metaverse themes, and TechCrunch noted that many earlier avatar startups had failed or been absorbed by larger platforms.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsGoogle acquired Alter, the AI avatar company that started as Facemoji, for approximately $100 million according to a source familiar with the matter. The deal was completed about two months before the October 27, 2022 report and was not publicly disclosed by either party; Google confirmed the acquisition but declined to comment on terms.
$100M source ↗
The company later rebranded from Facemoji to Alter, operating as a U.S. and Czech-headquartered AI avatar company serving creators and brands.
The NYC-based avatar technology company announced a $3 million seed round led by Play Ventures, with participation from Twitter, Roosh Ventures, Abe Burns and angel investors including Eric Seufert and Chris Lee. Proceeds were earmarked for expanding partnership efforts and further research and development.
$3M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Facemoji – Free Font & Emoji Generator, Hashtags, Captions & Bio Tools | Facemoji Keyboardfacemojikeyboard.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Facemoji do?
- Facemoji built a plug-and-play SDK letting game and app developers add 3D avatars; it rebranded as Alter and was acquired by Google.
- Who are Facemoji's investors?
- Facemoji's investors include Colopl Next.