Welcome back to Edition Two of BACKED | by Improbable. Each month, we spotlight one of the ventures we’ve backed, and why it matters.

This time, it’s Jitter: a startup building the future of streaming, not as entertainment to consume, but as a world you can play inside. In a moment where creator platforms are burning out their talent, hitting revenue plateaus and stagnating in format, Jitter is doing something rare. It’s giving the audience control, and giving creators a better shot at sustainability.

Founder Luke Taylor didn’t approach this as an outsider with a new business model. He’s a creator himself, shaped by Twitch’s limitations and inspired by what streaming could be. His solution isn’t a plugin or a patch, it’s a new layer of interactivity built on multiplayer infrastructure. And that’s exactly the kind of system change our venture builder exists to support.

Featuring Jitter this month feels especially timely. Twitch recently introduced new restrictions on multistreaming (limiting how creators can engage with their audiences) while platforms across the board are tightening control over content and monetisation. At the same time, audiences are looking for deeper, more participatory formats. As the entertainment industry reckons with stagnating formats and strained creator-platform dynamics, Jitter offers something new: a creator-first evolution of streaming that lets audiences shape the stream, bringing user-generated content into the heart of the experience.

Elsewhere in the ecosystem, we’re seeing major momentum — from Kallikor’s partnership with Morrisons to pilot a live digital twin of their national supply chain, to Somnia’s collaboration with Google Cloud, bringing AI-powered NPCs and Google’s leading security expertise to Web3 infrastructure. Imporium exits stealth to build immersive virtual shows that blend gaming, music and culture, while MSquared takes a key step toward commercial scale with the appointment of its VP of Commercial.

Thanks for reading, and for being part of the journey.

Venture Spotlight ||

Jitter is turning spectators into players. Founder Luke Taylor shares his vision for the next generation of interactive streaming.

Few people understand the pulse of streaming culture like Luke Taylor. A former Top 120 Twitch creator with a community of over 600,000 and founder of Streamers Connected, once the world’s largest Twitch stream team, Luke has built his career empowering creators through tools and communities. 

Now, he’s channeling that experience into Jitter, an interactive platform that transforms streaming from passive viewing into live, playable experiences, unlocking new monetisation opportunities and creative control for streamers.

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.

This Month in the Venture Builder ||

Imporium comes out of stealth, a creative studio crafting next-gen fan experiences

Imporium is a creative studio built on a long history of outstanding execution and a uniquely integrated capability across gaming, entertainment, and culture. The team is pioneering a new format for immersive virtual shows, pushing the boundaries of visual fidelity, interactivity and fan engagement. Trusted by global brands and partners including Yuga Labs, K-pop stars Alexa and Twice, MLB and Jitter, Imporium is working with music, sports & culture clients who are diversifying across new channels, and reaching new audiences. The studio is currently developing its first tentpole productions, designed to set a new industry benchmark for live, interactive experiences. Their latest audiences research reveals a clear shift in fan behaviour: mobile is now the primary way people engage with virtual events, and audiences are ready to spend, with virtual experiences expected to generate over $5.6 billion in revenue.

Morrisons & Kallikor pilot live digital twin for smarter supply chains

UK supermarket Morrisons is rolling out a live digital twin of its supply chain, powered by Kallikor’s AI-powered Adaption platform. Adaption enables Morrisons to simulate and optimise the flow of products across its entire network,  from warehouse to store, allowing the business to test operational changes before implementation. By providing a virtual environment for scenario testing and decision-making, the solution improves supply chain resilience, efficiency, and adaptability. This initiative reflects a growing trend in AI-powered operational planning across supply-intensive industries, demonstrating the real-world commercial impact of advanced simulation technologies. Catch Kallikor’s feature in BACKED from last month.

Somnia partners with Google Cloud to power intelligent Web3 infrastructure

Announced during ETHCC in Cannes, Somnia has partnered with Google Cloud to bring advanced AI-powered NPCs, enterprise-grade security and cloud tooling to its high-performance blockchain. With over 1 billion transactions processed on testnet and more than 60 projects already onboarded, Somnia is positioning itself as the go-to Layer 1 for on-chain games. “With Google’s support across validator operations and AI agent tooling, we’re redefining how games are built,” said founder Paul Thomas. The collaboration gives developers access to Google’s AI frameworks, Mandiant-powered Web3 security and real-time data infrastructure, all laying the groundwork for a new generation of intelligent, scalable blockchain-powered entertainment.

MSquared appoints Andrew Douthwaite as VP of Commercial

MSquared has appointed Andrew Douthwaite, former Chief Commercial Officer at Dubit, as its new VP of Commercial to lead the company into its next phase of growth. Known for delivering large-scale brand activations across Roblox and Fortnite for global names like adidas, L’Oréal and UEFA, Douthwaite brings deep experience at the intersection of creative strategy and immersive tech. “What drew me to MSquared is that it isn’t chasing headlines, it’s solving the infrastructure problem that has held immersive tech back for years,” he said. His hire marks a shift as MSquared moves to accelerate its commercial expansion, opening the platform up to brands, studios, and agencies looking to create adaptive, high-fidelity virtual experiences.

Industry Pulse ||

Rob Whitehead (MSquared) spoke to GamesBeat about launching a new system that lets digital avatars and assets move smoothly between virtual worlds, part of M²’s bigger vision to make online experiences feel more connected, useful and human.

Herman Narula (Improbable) told The Software Report he wants to build “the next civilisation online,” imagining virtual worlds as spaces for shared culture, commerce, and community at scale.

That’s a wrap for this month.

This edition shows what happens when our ecosystem moves from prototypes to real, measurable impact. We’ll be back next month with more progress and another venture in the spotlight.

P.S.

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