Xsolla invests in ‘phygital’ fashion startup Pillz

Game payment platform Xsolla has invested in “phygital” fashion startup Pillz.

Pillz is the latest to combine physical and digital when it comes to luxury fashion, using Web3 to merge their fashion with real-world goods.

Together with strategic partner Xsolla, Pillz lays the foundation for Web3 infrastructure, merging digital with physical. The funds raised will enable the company to launch its product and prepare for series production.

Pillz is an extension of digital identity, and it enables a device that can make collectibles and NFT games tangible, giving users a deeply immersive experience of interacting with their NFTs in physical reality, the companies said. Users can upload their NFTs to Pillz without transferring the token to the device, which requires verification of ownership.

Xsolla said the future of wearables is phygital: Pillz enables people to wear their NFTs as accessories – whether it’s a necklace, bracelet, key ring or something else. The leading fashion and jewelry brands can collaborate with Pillz to create limited edition NFT collections and produce unique accessory designs.

Pillz is a unique solution in the market, without direct competitors, the companies said.

“We are working in an empty market, and risk either being redundant or outpacing the market and being ready for market demand,” Pillz CEO Marat Saakyan said in a statement. “We believe that our solution will push the market up by creating new opportunities thanks to our contribution to web3 infrastructure.”

“Pillz represents what I always look for in teams – a passion to change the world and a vision to do so. The next evolution in web3 is in hardware and I’m excited to be a part of it with the team at Pillz, says Aleksandr Agapitov, Xsolla founder and Pillz board member, in a statement.

The company leverages the latest technologies, including near field communication (NFC) and blockchain, to enable users to fully interact with their surroundings and other users’ devices. Pillz “combines” the digital and physical worlds, creating a specific identifier for a person or their digital identity in the real world, allowing them to exist in this world.

“Of course, much of what we create can be implemented through a smartphone, but in our view, Pillz is a solution that perfectly solves specific tasks that the environment sets for the device – that’s why it is more practical than a smartphone and can exist as a separate device. As a team of X-prize alumni, we always create “first in a class” devices, setting new vectors for the development of technology in the world of devices, said Marat Saakyan, CEO of Pillz.

Pillz makes its own electronics based on a four-nanometer processor for wearables and builds its own system based on Linux, creating a full-fledged computer with a graphics processor that fits inside the device. The software is also built from scratch, except for WebGL for 3D processing.

the product is a brand new device that allows users to play games with their NFTs, carries collectibles, and restricts the device from loading anything other than NFTs. Pillz is a lamp-like device with very informal interaction that requires constant physical contact, unlike a touchscreen device. The team intentionally removed many features to create a device as slim and precise as possible, which was a difficult task because creating simplicity is challenging, the companies said.

In addition to its technical properties, Pillz has also made a strong push in the fashion world. The device has an elegant, minimalist design that can be customized with different colors and finishes. Pillz is preparing to launch sales in May 2023 and expects to have a significant impact on the market.