RESEARCH SUMMARY
Auki Labs
Auki allows people to create, own, inhabit and interact with virtual worlds and objects anchored in reality.
Auki’s patented, decentralized peer-to-peer positioning system is precise to the cubic millimeter and makes possible a persistent and shareable AR metaverse, as well as personalized ads. It also allows self-driving cars/drones, warehouse robots, and IoT devices without cameras to know their own position.
Overview
AR metaverses will go mainstream ahead of VR metaverses and be more ubiquitous. Previous AR apps have failed to gain traction because they 1) lacked intersubjectivity (i.e. were not social experiences), 2) had slow and tedious calibration, 3) suffered from imprecise positioning, and 4) lacked embodiment (users could not interact with AR objects with their hands).
Auki fixes these pain points with instant calibration and millimeter precision positioning, which allow for shared AR experiences. Users can interact in AR via 3D hand tracking (with 2D camera).
Their peer-to-peer 3D positioning protocol and mapping of the world into a “digital twin” could potentially replace GPS and be used in self-driving cars/drones, warehouse robots, personalized ads, etc. It can also bootstrap the mapping of spaces such as areas changed by natural disasters, underwater areas, or even Mars. This positioning system works without a camera, which allows for a high degree of privacy, low light AR, and the participation of IoT devices without cameras.
Tokenomics
The $AUKI token introduces the concept of map-to-earn. It will also be earned by hosting micro-nodes that traffic can be routed through. $AUKI will be spent by both app developers and their users on the following:
- Protocol usage and maintenance
- Calibration and other infrastructure usage
- 3rd party content
The Lighthouse NFT represents a physical calibration marker that serves as an absolute reference point for calibration and mapping. Holders earn rewards whenever their marker is used.
Team
Auki’s current team is 18+, most of whom are experienced engineers, researchers, and devs. Team members have worked for Apple, Google, Daimler, Weibo, etc.
- Nils Pihl (Founder & CEO): Serial entrepreneur and behavioral engineer specializing in memetics; helped grow Chinese social media giant Weibo from 50M to 500M active users.
- Ted Östrem (Founder & CTO): Tech startup veteran; 20+ years of experience in software dev
- Santeri Aramo (Founder & COO): Experienced in brand management and product design
Partners/Investors
$13M raised from Animoca, Outlier Ventures, Shima Capital, Kenetic, and over a dozen more.
CATEGORY
B2B company building a proprietary peer-to-peer positioning protocol and AR infrastructure.
SOCIAL STATS
CURRENT PHASE
Private Rounds
Opinions
RESEARCHER OPINION #1
Jesse | Sr. Research Analyst (non-VC perspective)
Augmented reality is a rapidly advancing technology with the potential to transform many different industries, including retail, education, entertainment, and many more.
However, AR has plenty of challenges to overcome to reach its full potential. One would be the potential for privacy and security concerns, as AR technology often involves collecting and processing large amounts of personal data. Auki wants to solve this and many more problems making them one of the exciting AR projects coming to the market soon. I also appreciate that a proper purpose and not greed drives the founder. Still, I would love to see more focus on building a community, as it brings many great benefits. Another point we need to consider is the vast competition by big tech companies that could stay in the way of Auki’s success.
