Over The Hand, the company operating the VTuber total platform 'MASCOZ', has announced its selection for the TIPS R&D project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. 

The TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) is a private investment-led technology startup support program that selects promising startups with the potential to lead the global market and provides focused nurturing. With this selection, Over The Hand will receive 500 million KRW in technology research (R&D) funding over the next two years.

Over The Hand is pioneering new horizons in the VTuber industry through 'MASCOZ' and is developing various contents and technologies based on it. Through this TIPS selection, Over The Hand plans to focus on developing the MASCOZ Avatar Core (MAC) and aims to secure core VTuber solution technologies such as L2E (Landmark2Expression) and M2S (Motion2Sequence), reducing device universality. L2E is a model that uses landmarks in videos as input to infer expressions, while M2S is a model that uses motion as input to infer subsequent motions.

In the future, Over The Hand plans to expand into mobile and other devices based on these technologies to capture the VTuber market through market expansion and rapid user influx. CEO Kyu-seung Lee of Over The Hand said, "The selection for the TIPS program is a recognition of Over The Hand's technological capabilities and potential," and added, "We will continue to showcase competitive virtual platforms in the global market through continuous research and development."

In addition to the technology development of MASCOZ, Over The Hand is expanding the VTuber industry ecosystem through various collaborations and partnerships. The company also plans to discover new business models and provide various functions and services that maximize user experience.

Meanwhile, Over The Hand secured 3 billion KRW in Series A investment in May 2024, with Korea Investment Partners and L&S Venture Capital participating. Through the Series A investment and the TIPS program selection, Over The Hand plans to accelerate the enhancement of MASCOZ technological capabilities and its entry into the global market.

MASCOZ : https://www.mascoz.com/