Futurefly

Futurefly, established in 2014 by co-founders Pietari Päivänen and Oskari Häkkinen, was a Finnish entertainment software company that operated at the intersection of augmented reality, social technology, and gaming. The company was founded by a team of veterans with experience from prominent firms like Remedy, Sulake, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft. Oskari Häkkinen, who served as the Chief Product Officer, previously led franchise development at Remedy Entertainment, bringing significant video game industry expertise to the venture.

The firm secured a total of $3.5 million in seed funding across two rounds. The initial round in December 2014 raised approximately $498K, followed by a more substantial $3 million round in November 2015. This later round attracted a notable group of investors, including Vision+, Betaworks, Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa, and private investors with backgrounds in successful tech companies like Snapchat and Facebook.

Futurefly's core product was a mobile messaging application called Rawr, designed to offer a more immersive and emotional communication experience. Rawr allowed users to create highly customizable 3D avatars, choosing everything from body shape and hairstyle to clothing. Within the chat interface, these avatars could perform actions and animations triggered by hashtags, such as dancing or hugging, to convey messages in a more dynamic way than traditional text and emojis. The app featured various chat backgrounds and environmental effects, aiming to gamify the messaging experience. The business model for Rawr appeared to be freemium; the app was free to use, but users could purchase additional clothing and accessories for their avatars through in-app purchases.

The company's stated mission was to disrupt the consumer app space by integrating playable mechanics as a core part of the user interaction. Operating in the entertainment software and mobile gaming market, Futurefly aimed to innovate social communication by blending it with game-like features. Despite its initial funding and product launch, the company eventually ceased operations and is now considered out of business.

Keywords: Futurefly, Rawr messenger, Oskari Häkkinen, Pietari Päivänen, 3D avatar chat, social gaming, mobile messaging app, augmented reality chat, virtual reality social, Helsinki startup, Finnish game industry, Betaworks, Vision+, avatar-based communication, gamified apps, entertainment software, character customization, social technology, mobile entertainment, out of business