GLOBAL: Yamaha Corporation has announced a strategic investment in i-Pairs Inc. through a private placement, signalling a move to strengthen its presence in the rapidly expanding virtual entertainment sector. The investment forms part of the company’s medium-term management strategy, Evolving to Create the Future, and is intended to accelerate business development in emerging areas such as the General Purpose Audio Protocol (GPAP) business.

The virtual entertainment market — spanning live performances and digital content created using real-time CG, motion capture and advanced production technologies — is widely expected to witness substantial global growth over the next decade. As new large-scale music and sports venues continue to be developed or upgraded in Japan, demand for innovative audience experiences, including virtual entertainment content, is also anticipated to rise steadily.

Within this ecosystem, i-Pairs Inc. has built a strong industry reputation for its ability to manage virtual entertainment events end-to-end, covering planning, production and promotional activities. Yamaha has already collaborated with the company on technology development initiatives, combining Yamaha’s General Purpose Audio Protocol (GPAP) with i-Pairs’ n-Links Retarget to enable flexible recording, editing and playback workflows within virtual production environments. These technologies have been applied to projects involving motion capture systems used in live performances by VTubers and virtual characters.

Through the new investment, the two companies plan to deepen their collaboration in order to streamline content creation workflows and expand the possibilities for producing and distributing virtual live events. By leveraging their respective technological strengths, Yamaha and i-Pairs aim to accelerate innovation in this rapidly evolving entertainment segment.

“This newly established capital partnership encourages us to further deepen our collaboration with Yamaha Corporation,” said Mamoru Ito, CEO of i-Pairs Inc. “Virtual entertainment is a new creative domain where music and technology intersect. By combining the strengths of GPAP and n-Links, we will drive innovation in production processes and create new live experiences, while advancing our efforts to establish a next-generation entertainment platform for audiences in Japan and around the world.”

“Even in an era of rapid digitalization, the power of sound and music holds universal value in supporting people’s creativity and inspiring emotion,” added Masamitsu Kitase, Operating Officer and Senior General Manager of the New Business Development Division at Yamaha Corporation. “We view virtual entertainment as an important field for delivering that power to society in new ways. Through our collaboration with i-Pairs Inc., we will strive to create new experiences where real and virtual blend, harnessing the power of sound and digital technologies.”