The Fusion of Virtual Idols, AI, and Web3: An Analysis of the MIRAI Project

The MIRAI project has recently attracted widespread attention, raising over 76,000 SOL (approximately $12.9 million) in just one week, setting a new fundraising record for Japanese Web3 projects. On May 16, MIRAI was launched on a certain trading platform, further enhancing the project's visibility. To expand its community influence, the MIRAI team has also engaged with several popular communities.

MIRAI is a project jointly launched by Aww Inc. and a certain blockchain ecological AI platform, positioned as a Web3 attempt at virtual personas. The project combines Aww Inc.'s expertise in CG modeling and character design with the blockchain infrastructure and AI technology of its collaborators, aiming to create virtual characters with autonomy and intelligent agency.

Aww Inc. was established in 2019 and is headquartered in Tokyo, focusing on "virtual human" technology. The company achieves diversified income through global licensing and brand collaborations. Its representative work, imma, is a virtual model with pink short hair, who has a large following on Instagram and TikTok, has collaborated with several internationally renowned brands, and participated in important events such as the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and the opening ceremony of the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025.

On the technical side, Aww Inc. has established a strategic partnership with a certain semiconductor giant to integrate AI audio-driven technology with GPU acceleration capabilities to enhance real-time emotional interaction and voice lip-syncing of virtual characters.

The MIRAI project aims to create the first "virtual idol + Web3 autonomous co-creation" ecosystem. Aww Inc. leverages its IP operation and community operation advantages in the Web2 world to provide core support for the project, while partners inject the power of "agents + decentralization" into the project through underlying technology and on-chain infrastructure.

The project roadmap shows that MIRAI will launch Agent Studio V2 in Q3, enabling creators to generate high-quality multimodal content with one click; in Q4, the first Agent Livestreaming is expected to be realized, allowing MIRAI characters to have real-time audience interaction and voting functions; a complete DAO governance platform is planned to be launched in early 2026.

MIR envisions an AI-driven virtual character that is linked to a blockchain identity system. This model enables the virtual character to make autonomous decisions, interact with the community, and receive incentives through a token economy. The project allows the community to act as co-creators and co-governors of the character, jointly determining the development of the storyline and the direction of IP derivatives.

However, the MIRAI project also faces some challenges. In terms of tokenomics, there is a high concentration issue in token distribution, which may lead to overly centralized governance. Additionally, issues such as content quality control and IP consistency maintenance in community operations also need to be addressed.

Overall, MIRAI has innovative significance in the integration of AI virtual idols and blockchain, injecting new ideas into Web3 content creation and the IP economy. However, whether it can truly achieve its expected goals still requires in-depth exploration and practice in areas such as tokenomics design, community governance mechanism improvement, and continuous innovation of virtual characters.