The archive · Consumer Apps · Product decision · 2025–2026
FlyMedia bets AI characters can replace human influencers: 1.2B views in nine months
Brazilian AI-native studio founded by ex-YouTuber Victor Trindade builds virtual influencers as owned global IPs; US$3.7M seed led by OneVC
FlyMedia
What the business is
AI-native media studio that creates and operates virtual influencers — characters with personality, narrative universe, audience and monetization potential — across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Starting capital：US$3.7M (R$19M) seed led by OneVC with Alter Global, a16z Scout Fund, Norte, Hypersphere, Verve and FJ Labs, plus GP Investments chairman Fersen Lambranho; preceded by a US$362K round
How it started
Founded in late 2025 by Rio-born creator-turned-founder Victor Trindade, 28, who turned a Minecraft channel into 1.2M subscribers, co-founded the fintech NG.CASH and the debate channel Canal Foco. He bet that synthetic influencers could own audiences without human reputational or motivational risk — his reference point is Disney, not TikTok.
What happened
After an initial US$362K round, FlyMedia raised US$3.7M in late 2025 led by OneVC. In nine months its characters accumulated 1.2 billion views and 3.7 million followers; Zuka reached 500K followers in 40 days with no paid media, and Foka Fofoca passed 60K Instagram followers in two months. First monetization test: affiliate-linked character Malu Sinistra drove over 26K clicks and R$8K in sales.
How it ended up
Still live and expanding: monetizing through platform payouts, advertising, licensing and own products, with seven characters in operation, multilingual characters planned to go global, and the open question of whether synthetic personalities can sustain fandoms for years.
Background
FlyMedia is a Brazilian AI-native media studio that creates virtual influencers — AI-generated characters with personality, routine, narrative universe and target audience — and operates them across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. It was founded in late 2025 by Victor Trindade, a 28-year-old Rio creator who turned a Minecraft channel into 1.2M subscribers and co-founded the fintech NG.CASH.
The bet is that characters can become beloved global intellectual properties without depending on a human face, removing what Trindade calls the reputational and motivational risk of human influencers. FlyMedia explicitly refuses white-label avatar work for brands, arguing that selling custom characters would cap the business; the ambition is 'a new Disney' built from born-digital characters.
FlyMedia raised US$3.7M in late 2025 led by OneVC, with Alter Global, a16z Scout Fund, Norte, Hypersphere, Verve, FJ Labs and GP Investments chairman Fersen Lambranho participating. In nine months its seven live characters reached 3.7M followers and 1.2 billion views; Zuka hit 500K followers in 40 days with no paid media. An early affiliate test with character Malu Sinistra generated more than 26K clicks and R$8K in sales on one product link.
Revenue is planned across four fronts: platform monetization (AdSense and view-based payouts, already covering production costs on some channels), advertising, licensing, and own products. The company is building Fly Studio, an internal pipeline from script and storyboard to final video, with each character's performance feeding back into its 'DNA'.
What has to be true
- A founder who monetized Minecraft audiences twice (channel and NG.CASH fintech) recognized the same play in synthetic characters: own the audience asset, not the service.
- Refusing white-label avatar work removes the revenue ceiling a services model would impose, forcing value creation into owned IP.
- Each character is built as an IP with its own universe and monetization path, letting one studio compound brands the way Disney does instead of managing per-influencer contracts.
- Distribution proof came fast: 1.2B views and 3.7M followers in nine months, with Zuka reaching 500K followers in 40 days without paid media.
- Born-digital, multilingual characters can attack global markets without a human's physical, linguistic or behavioral limits.
What can be applied
Own the IP, not the service: building characters as assets compounds audience and licensing value, but the moat is narrative and distribution, not the model that renders the videos.
Aftermath
As of July 2026 coverage, FlyMedia runs seven characters with more in testing, 1.2 billion views and 3.7 million followers in nine months, and is building Fly Studio to systematize production. It is preparing multilingual characters for global expansion. Monetization is early: platform payouts cover production on some channels, one affiliate test drove 26K clicks and R$8K in sales, with advertising, licensing and own products the bigger planned lines. The open risk, per its founder, is whether synthetic characters hold emotional and commercial space for years rather than riding AI curiosity.
Sources
- FlyMedia launches with $3.7M seed round
- Aos 28, ele fez fortuna com o YouTube e abriu um banco. Agora, cria influencers de IA com R$ 19 mi
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