bMuse

What bMuse does

bMuse is a private digital studio founded in 2009 that incubates and operates a portfolio of companies spanning interactive video, connected toys, mobile entertainment, digital health, and tablet publishing. Headquartered across five global offices with 112 full-time creators, the studio runs an explicit multi-company model with wholly-owned subsidiaries including TouchCast (an interactive video and Generative Web platform with Genything, Ciscape, and CogCache products), Retoy (inventor of Hasbro's Angry Birds Telepods connected toy technology), Magic Mirror (creator of the ElfYourself and ValentineYourself apps with over 20 million downloads), and minority-backed Kinsa (FDA-approved smart thermometer). The studio also operates adjacent subsidiaries in gaming (lm/nl), music (Vast), tablet publishing (Knomadic, Paragraph Shorts), 360-degree video (3D360), and mobile video (Takes).

The studio's underlying technology stack covers native iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows 8 development, a LAMP backend on AWS infrastructure, and proprietary capabilities in voice detection, facial recognition, animation, physical-to-digital scanning (Telepods), and a generative AI stack powering TouchCast's interactive video platform. bMuse holds 64 patents across portfolio companies and has earned 16 industry awards, including two Apple/Google App of the Year designations.

bMuse generates revenue through a hybrid model: app downloads and in-app purchases across the Apple App Store and Google Play (30M+ combined downloads), custom branded app development services for enterprise partners (e.g., OfficeMax's ElfYourself), and hardware sales through connected toy distribution (Telepods via Hasbro). The company reports having been profitable since launch, with 2012 revenues exceeding $3 million and revenues nearly doubling the following year. Distribution is anchored by deep Apple and Google platform relationships (100+ featured placements) and strategic enterprise partnerships with Hasbro, OfficeMax, UNICEF, Wall Street Journal, and BBC.

Name

bMuse

Legal name

bMuse

Website

https://bmuse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

bMuse is a private digital studio founded in 2009 that incubates and operates a portfolio of media, entertainment, and health technology companies. The studio builds consumer apps, connected toys, interactive video platforms, and FDA-cleared health devices, serving consumers via app stores and enterprise brands via custom development partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. App Downloads and In-App Purchases: bMuse portfolio companies generate revenue through free and paid mobile applications distributed via the Apple App Store and Google Play, including in-app purchase monetization (Retoy's physical-digital hybrid toys with in-app purchases).
2. Branded App Development Services: bMuse develops custom branded applications for strategic partners (e.g., ElfYourself for OfficeMax), generating service revenue from brand partnerships.
3. Connected Toy Sales: Retoy portfolio company monetizes through sales of physical connected toys (Telepods) with companion app experiences, combining hardware sales with digital engagement.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

bMuse is a digital studio that incubates and operates a portfolio of companies building consumer mobile applications, interactive video platforms, connected toys, and digital health products. The studio directly produces and distributes its own consumer apps (ElfYourself, ValentineYourself, #IMAGINE) through app stores, sells connected toys (Angry Birds Telepods) through retail, and develops custom branded apps and interactive video experiences for enterprise partners such as OfficeMax, Hasbro, the BBC, and the Wall Street Journal.

Product overview

bMuse is a digital studio that builds companies reshaping how people create and consume media. The portfolio includes TouchCast (an end-to-end Generative Web Platform with Genything, Ciscape, and CogCache products), Retoy (inventor of Angry Birds Telepods connected toys), Magic Mirror (ElfYourself and ValentineYourself entertainment apps plus Magic Mirror Junior for children's edutainment), and portfolio companies like Kinsa (smart thermometer/health technology). bMuse also produced the #IMAGINE campaign for UNICEF, a digital app enabling user participation in the world's largest human compilation of John Lennon's 'Imagine'.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TouchCast: Interactive video platform and the world's first end-to-end generative web platform with products including Genything, Ciscape, and CogCache
• ReToy
• Magic Mirror
• Magic Mirror Junior
• lm/nl
• Vast
• Knomadic
• Paragraph Shorts
• 3D360
• Takes
• Kinsa

Products and services

• TouchCast Interactive video platform described as the world's first end-to-end Generative Web Platform, combining video and web experiences into a single medium. Deployed for media publishers (WSJ Interactive, BBC's Story of Now) and high-profile campaigns (UNICEF #IMAGINE).
• ElfYourself Magic Mirror consumer app originally developed for OfficeMax that lets users place their faces onto dancing elf bodies. Achieved over 20 million downloads and was named Distimo's #2 new app developer globally.
• ValentineYourself Magic Mirror seasonal consumer app themed for Valentine's Day, extending the face-to-character engine from ElfYourself to a holiday format.
• #IMAGINE Campaign App TouchCast-produced app for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign enabling users to insert themselves into a John Lennon-inspired video and submit performances for a global multilingual mix produced by David Guetta.
• Angry Birds Telepods Connected toy line invented by Retoy (bMuse portfolio company) for Hasbro, blending physical collectible figures with mobile app experiences via Telepods scanning technology. Recognized as the best-selling mobile connected toy in history.
• Kinsa Smart Thermometer Mobile-connected FDA-approved smart thermometer developed by Kinsa that tracks the spread of illness and maps human health data through a companion app.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30+ million combined app downloads across portfolio
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• UNICEFflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 November 2014bMuse's TouchCast platform was used to create the #IMAGINE campaign app for UNICEF's anniversary campaign, featuring John Lennon's 'Imagine.' The app enabled users to record their own versions of the song, with performances combined into a multilingual world mix produced by David Guetta. Yoko Ono donated the rights, and the campaign was presented at the UN General Assembly. High-profile celebrities including Hugh Jackman, Katy Perry, will.i.am, David Guetta, and Idris Elba participated.
• Hasbro, Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerbMuse's Retoy portfolio company developed the Telepods technology for Hasbro's Angry Birds Telepods connected toys, which became the best-selling mobile connected toys in history with over 30 million scans and $50M+ in sales. Retoy was named Hasbro's Inventor of the Year.
• OfficeMaxcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMagic Mirror (bMuse portfolio) developed the ElfYourself app for OfficeMax, which achieved over 20 million downloads and became the #2 Overall App in the App Store.
• Apple Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApple's App Store is the primary distribution channel for bMuse portfolio apps. Two bMuse apps were named App of the Year, and apps were featured over 100 times in the App Store.
• Google Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoogle Play serves as a primary distribution channel for Android versions of bMuse portfolio apps, with over 100 combined featured placements across App Store and Google Play.
• Wall Street JournalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Wall Street Journal deployed TouchCast technology for its WSJ Interactive video series, a daily interactive video segment showcasing next-generation digital news content.
• BBCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBC used TouchCast technology for 'Story of Now,' a 20-part interactive documentary series hosted by Idris Elba, exploring fundamental questions about the human condition and history.
• Cannes Lions / Unilever FoundryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerbMuse was selected as one of 50 winners of the inaugural Unilever Foundry 50, an initiative to find the world's top 50 marketing technology startups.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sphero: Sphero is a connected-toy and educational robotics company whose app-connected physical products are directly comparable to bMuse's ReToy Telepods business model of pairing physical toys with companion digital experiences.
• WowWee Group: WowWee is a connected-toy and consumer robotics company (Fingerlings, Robosapien). It is directly comparable to bMuse's ReToy portfolio company in developing physical toys with integrated app-based digital experiences.
• Zynga: Zynga is a leading mobile social games publisher with a viral-app-led growth model centered on casual, shareable consumer experiences — directly comparable to bMuse's app-led studio model and consumer entertainment focus.
• Rovio Entertainment: Rovio is the creator of Angry Birds and was the launch partner for bMuse's ReToy Telepods product. It is directly comparable as a mobile games and entertainment company that has successfully bridged digital IP and physical connected-toy products.
• Niantic: Niantic develops location-based and physical-digital interactive game experiences (Pokémon GO). It is comparable to bMuse in creating consumer products that bridge physical and digital experiences at scale.
• Outfit7: Outfit7 is the developer of Talking Tom and other viral consumer entertainment apps with hundreds of millions of downloads. It is the most direct comparable to bMuse's Magic Mirror (ElfYourself) — viral, shareable, consumer-facing entertainment apps with similar monetization through app stores and brand partnerships.

Others

• Science Inc. Science Inc. is a startup studio that incubates and operates multiple consumer technology companies. It is comparable to bMuse as another operator of a studio model that spins out and scales multiple consumer-facing businesses.
• Betaworks: Betaworks is a startup studio and incubator that builds and invests in multiple consumer internet companies simultaneously. It is comparable to bMuse's studio/incubator model of running multiple portfolio companies off a shared platform.

Broad incumbents

• Spin Master: Spin Master is a major global toy and entertainment company with connected-toy lines (Hatchimals, PAW Patrol). It is broadly comparable to bMuse's ReToy as a larger incumbent in the toy industry that has embraced app-connected products.

Emerging players

• PlayFusion: PlayFusion is an emerging connected-play and games company that combines physical products with digital experiences. It is comparable to bMuse's ReToy in the connected-toy category but operates at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/bmuse
• Facebookfacebook.com/bmuse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bmuse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about bMuse