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Exclusive interview with Henri Mirande, CTO and Co-founder of Kinetix

Published

2 years ago

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

 

In a nutshell, Kinetix is an AI-driven platform that allows users to generate 3D content easily and quickly. But it is much more than what that quick summary suggests. Here we have with us its co-founder and CTO  Henri Mirande in a free-flowing chat about the platform, its features, its vision, its philosophy and its future. So, without any more ado, over to Henri!

Q. Let’s start on a personal note. Tell us briefly about your life and career.

A. I’m an avid gamer. I spent my teenage years playing strategy games, clocking up a total of four thousand hours on Civilization IV alone. As a passionate gamer, I decided to study Engineering in Computer Vision, a field that would allow me to be close to the games industry. After conducting research I joined multiple exciting tech companies bringing solutions to developers and publishers, such as Dynamixyz. My experiences helped me see that AI technologies will transform multiple industries, which is when I made up my mind to start my entrepreneurial journey in AI for gaming!

Q.  Now we shall move to Kinetix. What’s the story behind Kinetix? Kinetix, as we understand it, is a product of the Covid-19 era. What were the founding objectives of Kinetix?

A. Kinetix started after I met my co-founder, Yassine Tahi, during the Entrepreneur First program in 2020. We share a common passion for gaming and belief in the potential of AI. We started by interviewing some experts and pros who were our potential users. What brought us together is that we were both convinced that, with recent breakthroughs in research, we didn’t have to limit the AI opportunity to the pros but think about it as a tool for casual users too. In many of our early stage discussions investors were pushing for a SaaS model to address the market of 3D animation professionals. We were convinced that AI was  going to give everyone new abilities and that a bigger market was going to be addressable in a short time frame. We made the choice to develop technologies for the mass market setting. The Kinetix vision is to Humanize Metaverse by allowing everyone to create their own stories through Emotes. This unique positioning gave us a strong first-mover advantage and we’re now seeing a lot of players starting to develop AI for broader audiences.

Q. Did you have a clear-cut idea at the beginning about the kind of platform you were going to develop for Kinetix and the kind of technological backbone required for it? Or did you innovate on the go towards the present platform and technological model?

A. We knew we wanted our tech to be very user friendly and as accessible as possible. We evaluate and make all our tech infrastructure choices with that objective in mind. It guides our development and we always leverage what we learn from our users to further simplify the creation or integration process. Our main metrics on our studio are the percentage of our users becoming creators and time it takes them to make their first creation. The metric we monitor on our SDK is the time it takes developers and publishers to integrate it, and we’re happy to say it now takes less than one day for junior game devs. By improving on these metrics, we ensure we’re creating tech that is able to onboard thousands of users and their User Generated Emotes into games and virtual worlds.

Q. You mentioned making the process of 3D content generation easier and more accessible. How far has Kinetix succeeded in doing that? Could you provide some stats, regarding the number of users and the amount of time needed to develop 3D content using Kinetix?

A. On average, our users need 2 to 3 minutes to create and finalize an Emote. More than half of the created Emotes use more than two of our AI and editing features, demonstrating they easily navigate through and play with the multiple creative tools we offer to create awesome Emotes. You don’t have to take our word for it though – give it a try and see how easy 3D content creation can be! Our user base is constantly growing with more than 33% growth each quarter.

Our biggest recent success is for our SDK. We engaged hundreds developers in a beta program that helped us develop it. We are still accepting registrations and invite every developer interested in integrating Emotes in their projects to sign-up as a beta tester.

Q. You also talked about monetization for the users and fairer sharing of ad revenue with the creators. Could you provide some details – for example, stats about sharing of revenues with creators before Kinetix and after Kinetix?

A. The Kinetix Emote SDK has been developed to enable Emote distribution cross games and virtual worlds. AI not only heightens creativity it also guarantees to deliver assets in consistent formats. Our Emotes are 3D animation files that essentially contain information about the position of different points over a given period of time. As opposed to avatar or weapon, they don’t compete with the look-and-feel of the game or virtual world, they can be used agnostically whether the aesthetic is “blocky” (like Roblox), or realistic (like Fortnite). Kinetix Emotes are designed to be interoperable assets and this makes a huge difference for creators, allowing their creations to be used across multiple environments. Interoperability expands usage drastically, which leads to increased asset value, and like many other gaming companies we believe creators must benefit from that fundamental change. Kinetix gives 95% of the value of the first sale of any User-Generated Emote to its creator, as explained in our white paper. This is comparable to what big Web3 virtual worlds offer for their creators, while creator fees on Web2 gaming platforms often range between 20 and 40% of the generated revenue.

Q. The other objectives you had while starting out were better self expression while creating 3D content and interoperability of the content across platforms. After nearly three years of operating, what are your thoughts on these objectives with reference to the performance of Kinetix?

A. With multiple integrations with games & virtual worlds currently being deployed we are beginning to deliver on our ambition of interoperability. One of the most exciting parts in our adventure is how we are progressively changing our focus towards Emotes. We define Emotes as animations that express avatars’ emotions like dances, gestures & celebrations. Working on Emotes and not 3D animations might seem a niche thing, but it is not! It’s a big challenge as we are now dealing with emotions that motions convey. We are creating new categories that are no longer just describing the movements but also the message they share. This is changing how we produce our own content, how we funnel the creative process for users, how we prioritize our R&D projects. We are convinced that this new approach allows us to build tech that is not only capturing movement but what it expresses. We feel that we are heading in the right direction to develop a new standard of self-expression technology.

Q. Now, tell us about the most eye-catching features of Kinetix?

A. The feature I am the most proud of is our Video-To-Emote technology. It is the first one we released but we are now at v1.5 and we can say that our AI has been polished and is getting better and better. Our challenge of delivering high-quality 3D animations with a single camera is very complex. We see many players delivering great tech but their setups are often time-consuming and expensive. We made the decision to give everyone, or at least every smartphone owner, the possibility to become a 3D creator for free and we believe this is the right decision. The level of expertise we reached on our Video-To-Emote technology is awesome and I am proud to see that in addition to the studio we are now offering it as a standalone solution with the recent launch of our “Motion Portal” tool. This solution allows brands to set up a Portal where their fans just upload their 10s videos to animate their favorite brand avatar and universe. It fully relies on our Video-To-Emote and we generate thousands of high-quality videos without any need for animation cleaning. This level of performance is what we were aiming for with my team of 10+ R&D engineers and I am happy to see that the results are engaging our partner communities!

Q. What are the new features to be launched in the near future?

A. We have really exciting features coming soon. One that really excites me is the release of our facial animation feature coming in 2023. My team worked hard to deliver a facial recognition technology embedded within our suite of AI models for 3D animation. Results are outstanding. I am excited to see our community of creators testing it by the summer. We know it will increase the level of fidelity of users’ creations. Mixing body motion capture with facial, style transfer as blend models allows us to provide the most comprehensive suite of AI technologies applied to 3D animations on the market.

Q. Our readers would also love to hear about some of the impressive 3D content generated via your platform. If you don’t mind, provide some great examples.

A. One story I really like is the Next Dancer one. We constantly chat with our community on Discord and also arrange interviews with them. This is how we met with Damien Daube. He is a former professional breakdancer that was using our tech to record his dances and save them as 3D files. When we spoke for the first time he explained to us that he would love to see a game leveraging our tech to allow dancers to bring their dances into a virtual world. It was at the exact moment we were starting to build our SDK. Our paths were perfectly aligned so we went on a common journey and we are really happy that Damien has successfully launched the first version of Next Dancer:  the first AI based dance game. This new gameplay is seducing players such as famous IPs, with the French version of “Dancing with the Stars” having already made a collection of dances for the game. Embedding our tech at the core level of such a great game empowers creativity and UGC.

Q. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are witnessing phenomenal changes at a rapid pace. There have been reports that some of the big players in the field are eying 3D content generation using AI, after similar products in text and 2D graphics like ChatGPT and DallE? Do you see a threat or opportunity here?

A. All those new AI releases are a tremendous opportunity. One simple fact that proves it, is that over the last weeks almost every tech enthusiast has learned how to prompt. It is now clear for a lot of people that they will benefit from AI to improve their work and creative process. We believe those general models are putting the spotlight on how AI can impact multiple industries and gaming is a target of choice. Those models are trained on a very large dataset and this is a big difference comparing how 3D animations models are currently being developed. They mainly rely on academic datasets which are way smaller. Being able to collect large sets of animations is one of the main challenges for our technology. As Kinetix not only addresses professionals but creators at large, we built a top proprietary library of animations coming from casual users. This gives us a unique competitive advantage. It sets the foundation for training larger models in animation to excel in our industry. Our R&D tests prove that we are gaining a strong and long lasting competitive advantage.

Q. Finally, do you have any advice or suggestions to new entrepreneurs, especially as someone who started out and succeeded during the Covid pandemic?

A. My advice is to do what you love and love what you do! Founding and managing a company is an exciting adventure when shared with passionate people. What I care about the most is to work with enthusiastic people who have very strong convictions on the future of AI and gaming. We are very cautious in our recruitment process to make sure that every newcomer brings a little more passion to the team.

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Portrait of a Fraudster Then and Now: How Scammers’ Habits and Tactics Are Changing

Published

5 days ago

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June 26, 2025

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

 

Fraud in the iGaming sector is no longer the work of lone opportunists. Today’s scammers operate in well-organized, tech-savvy networks – quietly exploiting systems that weren’t built to catch them. And as the digital economy grows, so too does the complexity of fraud schemes targeting gaming operators.

Amid this evolving threat landscape, Frogo has emerged as a  company redefining how fraud prevention should work. We spoke with Volodymyr Todurov, CEO at Frogo, to get an inside look at how fraudsters are changing their tactics – and what operators can do to stay ahead.

 

Fraudsters evolve fast – how does your system stay one step ahead without overwhelming teams with false alarms?

Absolutely, the landscape of fraud is constantly shifting and staying ahead requires more than static rules. At Frogo, we’ve developed a dynamic system that adapts in real-time to user behavior and transaction contexts. Our platform learns from both fraudulent and legitimate activities, enabling it to distinguish between the two more effectively. This approach reduces false positives and ensures that our clients’ teams can focus on genuine threats without being bogged down by unnecessary alerts.

 

Can you walk us through a real-world case where your platform uncovered a fraud scheme traditional tools missed?

Absolutely. One notable case involved a large-scale bot attack targeting SMS-based fraud vectors. Initially, our standard device ID-based defenses helped neutralize the first wave of the attack. However, the adversaries quickly adapted, altering their emulation tactics to bypass traditional checks. At that point, conventional methods were no longer sufficient to detect the evolving fraud.

We responded by implementing a dynamic anomaly detection framework. This involved redefining detection signals in real-time using IP intelligence and deep device fingerprint attributes – areas where our proprietary data collection algorithms provided a significant edge. By anchoring detection logic to more granular and resilient signals, we were able to recalibrate thresholds dynamically, ensuring legitimate users weren’t impacted.

The results were decisive: bot attack efficiency dropped sharply from over 80% to just 3.5%.

 

What’s something about fraud detection that most businesses get wrong? And how does Frogo challenge that?

A common pitfall we see is operational rigidity – many businesses rely on static rules and general-purpose triggers that result in high false positive rates. This not only burdens anti-fraud teams with unnecessary manual reviews but also degrades the experience for legitimate users, especially loyal or VIP customers.

For example, it’s typical to see blanket rules like “manually verify all payouts over X euros.” While that may seem prudent, in reality it’s inefficient. It overlooks low-value, high-frequency fraud – such as bonus abuse – and disproportionately flags legitimate high-value players.

At Frogo, we take a different approach. Our system adapts rules dynamically based on customer behavior and segmentation. A trusted VIP user with a long-standing reputation shouldn’t be reviewed multiple times a day. But if a wave of new €5 accounts starts exhibiting bonus-hunting behavior, they should run immediate scrutiny – regardless of transaction size.

By aligning detection logic with behavioral context and player reputation, we reduce noise, increase fraud catch rates, and protect real users from unnecessary friction.

 

How does Frogo automate risk logic without sacrificing the flexibility businesses need to reflect their unique policies and traffic patterns?

At Frogo, we don’t see automation and customization as opposing forces – they operate in different dimensions. Our focus is on automating the customization of risk and scoring policies in a way that respects each client’s specific risk appetite and user behavior.

We achieve this through dynamic triggers. Rather than hardcoding arbitrary rules – like “five failed top-ups per minute equals fraud” – we apply adaptive scoring thresholds that align with real-world usage patterns.. For example, our system might detect that, for a certain payment method and user segment, more than 1.3 failed top-ups per minute is statistically anomalous – because it exceeds the 98th percentile of historical behavior.

But that same trigger adjusts automatically. If the next day a payment provider experiences a technical issue and normal users start retrying more often, the threshold might shift to 2.7. What was anomalous yesterday may no longer be today – and our system adapts accordingly to reflect evolving traffic patterns.

As a result: the clients retain full control over their risk strategy, while Frogo ensures their policies scale efficiently, adapt in real time, and minimize false positives – even in volatile traffic conditions.

 

Beyond detection – how does Frogo help companies investigate and understand fraud at a strategic level?

Detection is just the beginning. Frogo’s graph-based forensic tools and AI models provide a comprehensive view of the relationships between accounts, transactions and behaviors. This allows companies to identify patterns and vulnerabilities that might not be apparent through traditional analysis. Our analytics layer offers insights into trends and forecasts, enabling businesses to understand the broader context of fraudulent activities and make informed strategic decisions to mitigate future risks.

Fraud might be getting smarter, but so are the solutions built to fight it. Platforms like Frogo are helping operators move beyond reactive security measures and into a space of strategic, data-informed defense. In an industry where trust is everything, that shift might just be the difference between staying one step ahead – or falling behind.



Disclaimer: Frogo’s fraud prevention solutions are developed in full compliance with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR. All behavioural analysis is performed on anonymised or aggregated data, with full transparency and control provided to our clients.

The post Portrait of a Fraudster Then and Now: How Scammers’ Habits and Tactics Are Changing appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Inside the Matrix: A Conversation with EveryMatrix Founders on Europe, Expansion, and Staying Hands-On

Published

1 week ago

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June 23, 2025

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

 

By Maria Emma Arnidou, Event Marketing Director at HIPTHER, for the European Gaming Media

During the recent EveryMatrix Media Day at the company’s opening of their new London office, Co-Founders Ebbe Groes (CEO) and Stian Hornsletten sat down with press to share key insights into their strategic vision. In this exclusive Q&A, we explore their views on the European Market, the evolution of EveryMatrix’s business model, leadership philosophy, and the company’s experience in the ever-evolving U.S. market.

Europe is filled with local heroes. It’s far more fragmented than most people think.

 

You discussed emerging markets in your presentation. What about Europe – is it considered saturated, or are there still areas of growth?

Ebbe Groes: I really don’t think Europe is saturated at all. In fact, big parts of it are still underdeveloped. Take France for example, it doesn’t allow online casino. Germany has effectively banned it. That’s two of Europe’s three largest economies where casino is either outlawed or nearly impossible. So yes, there is still plenty of room for growth.

Stian Hornsletten: And the market is getting more concentrated around a few bigger players, but even then, it’s not as centralized as in the U.S.

Ebbe Groes: Exactly. Europe is filled with local heroes. You won’t find many players dominating across the board. Kindred, Betsson – they’re strong, but when you go country by country and look at market share, the picture is very fragmented. Even with the economies of scale in marketing – say you sponsor a Premier League team – you’re still not getting the full return unless you’re present across multiple markets. That’s what makes Europe so different from the U.S., where a few big players hold all the cards.

We started with a sportsbook. Now we’re building an ecosystem.

 

EveryMatrix today operates across multiple verticals with a deeply diversified portfolio. Was this the vision from the start, or did it evolve as the company grew?

Stian Hornsletten: The vision definitely evolved quickly as we grew. We started with OddsMatrix, a B2B sportsbook product that was meant to be an off-the-shelf, managed solution – something that didn’t exist back then. Within a year, we had already expanded into turnkey and PAM solutions. By 2010–2011, we had launched the CasinoEngine and started specializing in product verticals.

We’ve always been very innovation-driven. We keep developing new products – some of which are still under wraps – and R&D remains one of the most exciting parts of what we do. Today, most of our top 10 clients are turnkey. While we still offer standalone modules, our growth has come from cross-vertical synergy.

 

Despite this scale and complexity, you both remain deeply involved in the company’s day-to-day operations. How do you manage to stay on top of everything across products, people, and processes?

Ebbe Groes: It helps that we’ve been here from the start. I wouldn’t want to be hired into this role now and try to learn everything from scratch – but I’ve had 18 years to absorb it all. We’ve built the company in a way that each vertical operates almost like its own business. For example, the sports division has its own CTO, product team, trading team, and even its own support function. That independence gives us breathing room.

It allows me to focus on high-level strategy, like acquisitions – take FSB, for instance. That required a lot of focus at the start, but eventually it will transition into the core business and require less direct involvement.

Stian Hornsletten: Over the years, we’ve also developed strong planning, reporting, and KPI structures across the business. That consistency makes it easier to monitor everything and integrate new divisions. Whether we open a new office or onboard a new team, we already have the systems in place to support them.

Ebbe Groes: And the same goes for finance and HR. When we opened the London office, the HR team already knew how to handle it – we’d opened three the year before. That kind of maturity allows us to move fast without creating chaos.

“In Europe we have 150 competitors in content; in the U.S., maybe 10.”

 

And what about the U.S. – a market many see as the holy grail of iGaming? What’s your current position there?

Ebbe Groes: To be honest, the U.S. was a tough lesson. We entered hoping to provide a full turnkey solution, but the market didn’t evolve the way we expected. Many well-funded B2C operators pulled out, and that left little demand for companies like us to offer the full stack. We pivoted to focus on one thing: our own gaming content.

Stian Hornsletten: We’re now live in four out of five regulated U.S. states for our own content, and we have agreements with all the major operators. Some new games from SlotMatrix are set to launch by summer, and they’ve already shown strong performance elsewhere – which gives us hope. If we manage to capture even 1–2% market share with our own content, that would already be meaningful.

But it’s been a long and costly process. Every state has its own regulatory requirements, separate hosting, and certification needs. And if one state’s not ready, operators won’t promote your games nationally. It’s frustrating, but it also reduces competition. In Europe we have 150 competitors in content; in the U.S., maybe 10. So if we can endure, there’s long-term potential.

The post Inside the Matrix: A Conversation with EveryMatrix Founders on Europe, Expansion, and Staying Hands-On appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Review Fatigue Is Real: How to Make Casino Comparisons Clear, Honest, and Huma

Published

2 weeks ago

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June 18, 2025

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Sebastian Jarosch is the founder of Mithrillium Media Ltd, and a very famous figure in the iGaming industry. His contributions to the market have been immensely influential. Jarosch has overlooked several projects relating to the online gambling market, most notably those involving affiliates. Because of his past works, we believe he is uniquely qualified to address the topic of Review Fatigue, that seem to be plaguing the industry right now.

Actions speak louder than words. And Jarosch’s actions have earned him several of the most notable industry awards. Among the most notable are the Casinomeister 2020 Awards for Best Casino Group, the AskGamblers Awards for Best Partner in 2021, and the Affpapa Awards Affiliate Programme of the Year 2022.

Interview Questions:

What is “review fatigue,” and why do you think it’s becoming a growing issue in the iGaming space?

Review fatigue happens when players are faced with repetitive, overly long, or generic content. With so many casinos offering similar bonuses, games, and licensing, users quickly lose interest if every review sounds the same. Many reviews lack real insight and simply list features without context, often sounding too good to be true. As a result, players tend to skim or move on entirely, especially if they’ve already seen the same structure and wording on multiple other sites.

How can overly technical or overly promotional content alienate users instead of helping them?

When content is too technical, it can confuse or intimidate newcomers. Ideally content is educational and written with the player in mind. On the flip side, a sales pitch feels dishonest, especially to experienced players who know what to look for. Users are looking for clarity and guidance, not marketing sugar coated casinos. If a review sounds like it’s trying to sell rather than help, it erodes trust immediately. Players want transparency, real pros and cons, not just buzzwords.

What are the most important things players want to see in a casino comparison, and what can we safely leave out?

Players want to know the promotions, payment methods, withdrawal speeds, licensing, game variety, and reliability of a casino. They also care about things like support quality, KYC, ownership, RTPs, and real player feedback. What they don’t want is generic content that could apply to any casino and offers no real value. Sites like Casino-Groups help players pick the right casinos based on individual preferences.

How do you balance clarity with completeness when writing or designing reviews?

It’s all about prioritizing information and guiding the reader. We aim to answer the most important user questions right at the beginning, often using summary tables to make things easier to digest. More detailed information comes later for those who want to dive deeper. It’s important to avoid walls of text and explain complex terms in plain language. The goal is to give users exactly what they need to know, without bombarding them with unnecessary information.

Do players trust shorter, more digestible content more than long-form reviews today? Why or why not

Shorter content tends to convert better because users find what they’re looking for quickly, without digging through long paragraphs full of filler. Dense, meaningful content with no waste often performs best. A short, clear, and well-structured review can build more trust than a long one filled with fluff. That said, some players do enjoy longer reviews, especially when they’re broken up with visuals, clear sections, and genuinely useful insights.

What role does tone of voice play in making reviews feel more human and less “salesy”?

A review should feel like it’s written by a real person who’s an expert in the field, not by ChatGPT or a salesperson. We use conversational language where possible and speak directly to the user. If something’s bad or a bonus is just average, it needs to be mentioned. That kind of honesty builds far more credibility than flashy design or empty buzzwords.

How do you verify and present information (e.g., licensing, terms, payment speed) in a way that’s both accurate and user-friendly?

We manually verify everything by signing up, testing support, and reading the fine print. We also check licenses through official registries and monitor user feedback on watchdog sites. To present the information clearly, we use tables, lists, screenshots, and both internal and external links to relevant pages. All our reviews follow a consistent format so players know what to expect and can easily find the details they need.

Have you experimented with visual elements like comparison tables, badges, or rating meters to reduce cognitive load?

Pictures speak a thousand words and help break up content into smaller, more digestible sections, reducing review fatigue. We use comparison tables for things like bonus terms, game selection, and payment methods. Every review includes a rating, and we apply badges to highlight our top casinos. This makes it easier for users to compare options at a glance and make smarter decisions with less effort.

What strategies do you use to keep review formats consistent while still personalizing the experience for different user types?

We follow a consistent structure that works well for both SEO and conversions. However, if a specific area needs emphasis or additional context, we’re happy to deviate from our standard format to ensure topical completeness. Some casinos offer unique features that deserve extra attention, and in those cases, we’ll add dedicated sections. The framework is consistent, but we stay flexible where it counts.

Looking ahead, how do you think casino reviews will evolve to meet changing user expectations and attention spans?

We’ll see more interactivity, personalization, and smarter use of data. Reviews could adapt in real time based on user preferences, highlighting crypto options for one user and game selection for another. AI chatbots may help users find the best match and answer questions about a casino instantly. Integration with platforms like Discord or Telegram where players can exchange themselves could also make reviews feel more social and trustworthy. Reviews need to become sharper, more authentic, and more genuinely helpful than ever before.

The post Review Fatigue Is Real: How to Make Casino Comparisons Clear, Honest, and Huma appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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