Launched in September ‘21, Jadu came out with NFT jetpacks that let users equip NFTs from Meebits, Deadfellaz and on a TestFlight app on iOS:

They raised a $7m Seed Round with participation from the legendary SoundVentures & GuyOseary + my former employer, LionTree. As a part of the crypto team there, this was one of the first NFT investments I had seen and my introduction to Jadu as a whole.

They then launched hoverboards which killed it and have done over 5,300 in total ETH volume. These boards also have power up traits for handling, jumping and speed.

Some time around February they announced hoverboard holders could forge their NFTs for a PHYSICAL SNOWBOARD for 0.22ETH in partnership with Gilson Snow, a boutique snowboard customizer.

Fast forward to some of the more recent developments with a feature length interview with AJM and Michael Bay of Transformers. They reveal that Michael Bay is collaborating with them to design some of the rarest avatars for the collection AND a cinematic trailer drops, highlighting the backstory behind the 5 species.

[The Avatar cinematic trailer drops, highlighting the backstory behind the 5 species
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc1XnLDXxiA
](The Avatar cinematic trailer drops, highlighting the backstory behind the 5 species
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc1XnLDXxiA
)

The Avatar project is minting now, 11,111 NFTs across 5 species, BLINK, RUKUS, DISC, YVE & AURA - each with their own backstory. The goal is to build out an AR game platform with these AVAs serving as core avatars for the platform

The NFT launch is really something to behold and again is raising the bar for next gen avatar drops:

3D files ready on day 1

• The AVAs are designed & optimized for AR and can work as playable characters and follow a storyline in Jadu's app releasing this September

• Custom background environments which will be available to download in various digital formats

Full commercial rights

• Lets AVA holders to do literally ANYTHING with their NFTs….you know how bullish I am on community led IP growth

Dynamic metadata 😱

• AVAs are living NFTs that will respond to the AR game world and be available to upgrade and customize over time

• This is something I explored back in the days of contributing to 11Captains’ Club and some of the early trends I had called with Nifty Tailor

All mint proceeds going to the Ava Community Treasury (ACT)

• Directing mint proceeds towards DIRECT community development to build out a creator flywheel, user generated content and a true community-led ecosystem is such a strong signal for what the team has in store for their ecosystem

• Distribution of the full treasury funds is set to conclude after two years, over 4 different types: small (from $2.5k), to medium, large ( up to $15k) and other special grants 

• The grant proposer and recipient must still hold their Jadu NFT which further drives the flywheel of ecosystem growth curation

It’s clear that Jadu looking to build out an ecosystem with creators at the center of it and I’m so bullish on the precedent this AVA drop is going to set 

The giga brains over there also structured this drop in an absolutely seamless manner, giving jetpack holders a free mint, hoverboards guaranteed mints and reserving the remaining supply for partner projects such as RugRadio, WoW, Deadfellaz & Meebits.

As someone deep in the weeds of NFT & Fungible token design, I can say this was structured in an absolutely flawless manner that rewards current holders and strategically uses partner communities as a CAC tool. Bravo

Ultimately, this looks like a really special project with institutional backing, a stellar team and a unique position in the market pushing the boundaries between AR, mobile and NFT interoperability.