UK-based Unit1, which develops "hyper-realistic" digital avatars of musicians to recreate classic concerts, raised nearly £15M from Balderton Capital and others (Alex Lawson/The Guardian)

Unit1, a UK-based music tech startup, has raised nearly £15m in funding from investors including Balderton Capital. The company, founded by Barney Wragg, develops "hyper-realistic" digital avatars of musicians to recreate classic concerts.

Unit1 aims to offer a lower-cost version of shows like Abba Voyage, allowing living and dead artists to perform in any venue. The company creates digital avatars through a combination of archive footage, hiring actors and musicians who resemble or play like the artist, and blending the footage together.

Unit1 has already tested its technology with Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, who worked with Wragg at EMI. In the pilot, Tunstall was filmed in a London studio by motion capture cameras as she recreated a two-decade-old performance.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, Guardian Business — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.