Welcome to our September edition of BACKED | by Improbable.

This month we are spotlighting Imporium, the studio reimagining live fan experiences for a digital-first world. From Major League Baseball to K-pop phenomenon Twice, its partners span sports, music, and Web3, all looking to reach fans beyond borders and transform loyalty into lasting community.

Where many talk about “virtual concerts” or “digital fandom,” Imporium is building live, shared, interactive moments that scale globally without losing the intimacy of a stadium, arena, or stage. As fan expectations shift, so too does the opportunity for brands and rights-holders to build meaningful, owned relationships with their audiences.

The opportunity is huge: Imporium’s research finds virtual events could drive $5.6 billion in revenue, with audiences ready to pay for experiences that truly connect.

Thank you for reading!

Venture Spotlight |

Imporium is betting on the power of live. Led by Isabelle Riva, a creative executive with more than two decades leading at the intersection of games, film and AI, the studio is redefining how fans connect with the icons they love. Isabelle previously spearheaded product and marketing at Unity Technologies through its $23B IPO, and was a producer at Ubisoft — experience she now channels into building the future of immersive entertainment.

With partners ranging from Major League Baseball and Yuga Labs to K-pop phenomenon Twice, Imporium has already proven its ability to deliver at scale. But for Isabelle, the opportunity is even bigger.

“The magic of shared, interactive events is that feeling of presence, of live connection bridging vast distances. I may not be able to travel to a legendary venue, but here I am with my besties nevertheless, having fun together in the same world, building memories”.

In this interview, Isabelle explains why “fan first” is more than a philosophy, how AI is reshaping participation, and why live digital experiences could represent the biggest untapped opportunity for entertainment since the rise of television.

Building something ambitious?

We work with founders solving complex problems in AI transformation, the metaverse, and Web3 – the kind that don’t get built alone.

Last Month in the Venture Builder |

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fan3 raises $5m from Improbable to put real fans first

fan3, the fan-first live events platform, raises $5 million from Improbable to tackle ticketing fraud and prioritise genuine fans. The platform reduces tickets reaching secondary markets to under 5%, compared with a 40% industry average, by verifying real fans and blocking bots and scalpers. Integrating with Ticketmaster, AXS, Eventim, and Etix, fan3 gives fans presale access, perks, and digital rewards, using blockchain and NFC-enabled wristbands to authenticate attendance and link live events to ongoing engagement. Founded by music veterans who manage artists with 150M+ followers, fan3 has already partnered with global stars including Zayn and Pitbull, and will use the funding to scale technology and deepen industry integrations.

Jitter gears up for iOS launch

Jitter, the interactive multiplayer platform transforming streaming into live playable experiences, is making progress toward iOS. Recent tests showed 2,500 bots running smoothly at 25–30 FPS on iPhone, powered by MSquared’s large-scale multiplayer infrastructure. Big worlds, small screens, no problem.

Somnia teams up with Tristan Thompson to launch basketball.fun

NBA champion Tristan Thompson, alongside Improbable CEO, Herman Narula and co-founder Hadi Teherany, is launching basketball.fun, a new on-chain experience debuting in October ahead of the NBA season. Built on Somnia, the platform will let fans tokenise NBA players, speculate on rising talent, and earn rewards tied to real-time sentiment and performance. Unlike traditional fan tokens, basketball.fun avoids reliance on a native token, instead focusing on gamification, fan empowerment, and dynamic player valuations.

Industry Pulse |

Somnia was featured in Coindesk for the launch of its mainnet. The rollout follows a testnet phase that processed more than 10 billion transactions, onboarded 118 million wallets and attracted over 70 ecosystem partners. At peak, Somnia processed 1.9 billion transactions in a single day, setting a record for an EVM-compatible chain.

Jitter will make its first major public appearance at Steam Next Fest this October. Until now the platform has been in closed alpha with select creators, but the festival will showcase a free demo for the first time. The event marks a key step toward Jitter’s full-scale launch, bringing its live, interactive streaming experiences to a wider gaming audience.

That’s it for the month.

From innovative launches to standout contributions by independent and diverse founders, the Improbable community continues to shape the future of interactive and immersive technology. We’ll be back next month with new highlights and stories of progress.

Have feedback, suggestions or topics you'd like us to dive into? Email us at: [email protected].