Miquela

Market position

Widely described as one of the earliest and most prominent virtual influencers, the first to go viral on Instagram and the reference point most often cited by journalists covering the category. Comparisons are commonly drawn to earlier virtual acts such as Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku, while contemporaries include Balmain's Shudu and other CGI models, Brazil's Lu of Magazine Luiza, and venture-backed peers SuperPlastic and Toonstar.

Unlike human influencers, the character's appearance, statements and availability are fully controlled by its operators, which sources cite as reducing brand risk and allowing the intellectual property to be extended across worlds, games and long-running narrative arcs. Miquela's first-mover status, transmedia expansion into recorded music, and elaborate serialized storytelling involving a linked cast of characters distinguish it from CGI models built solely for advertising.

Technology

Miquela's imagery is produced with computer-generated imagery via 3D rendering software and motion-capture techniques using tools developed in-house at Brud, rather than patented AI or robotics systems. Output is human-directed: a team manually curates facial expressions, clothing physics and poses, with machine learning applied in places to analyze human imagery and improve realism of skin textures and movement. Formats have progressed from static Instagram photographs in 2016 to short video and more interactive content. Post-acquisition plans centered on DAO tooling and NFTs on the Flow blockchain.

Go-to-market

Distribution is direct-to-audience through social platforms, principally the @lilmiquela Instagram account plus TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Spotify, amplified by coordinated narrative stunts (notably the 2018 Bermuda account "hack") and inter-character drama designed to generate press coverage. Commercial deals are supported by talent representation: Miquela was previously represented by WME and in 2020 became the first digital avatar signed by CAA, with PR handled by the firm Huxley.

Two audiences: consumer fans, largely younger social media users (self-described "Miquelites"/"Miqaliens") following the character on Instagram and TikTok; and paying customers on the commercial side, namely fashion, streetwear, luxury, beauty and consumer-electronics brands buying influencer marketing and endorsement campaigns, plus media and publishing partners.

Geography

Created and operated from Los Angeles, California, where the character is also fictionally based (originating from Downey, California); audience and brand activity are global, with appearances tied to New York, Milan Fashion Week and Coachella.

History

Miquela launched on Instagram in April 2016 and built an audience amid public speculation about whether she was real. In April 2018 a staged account takeover by the Bermuda character coincided with Brud's public reveal as creator and with press reports of an approximately $6 million funding round including Sequoia Capital. Reports in January 2019 described a $125 million investment round led by Spark Capital; the company was valued at over $125 million in 2019. Commercial milestones followed, including the 2018 Calvin Klein and Samsung campaigns and a 2020 CAA signing, the first for a digital avatar. In October 2021 Dapper Labs acquired Brud in an undisclosed all-equity deal, folding the team in and assigning McFedries to lead Dapper Collectives, with Miquela's community as its flagship project.

Risks & controversies

Brud's self-description as a startup specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics has been challenged; reporting notes the company holds no patents in AI, robotics or related fields and that founders made exaggerated biographical claims. TechCrunch reported that McFedries falsely told a reporter the 2018 account hack was carried out by outsiders when it was in fact an orchestrated stunt. A 2019 Calvin Klein ad in which Miquela kissed Bella Hadid drew queerbaiting accusations; a December 2019 YouTube video in which the character described a sexual assault was criticized as exploitative, including by singer Kehlani; and a 2025 campaign with the National Marrow Donor Program presenting a first-person leukemia diagnosis narrative prompted backlash over insensitivity. Broader criticism concerns the ethics of deception, activism framed as marketing, and virtual characters displacing human creators. Commentators have also questioned whether virtual influencers are a durable category rather than a novelty.