Into the Metaverse

On the latest episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon and Matthew once again break down three key items that are influential in shaping the development of the metaverse and on which we believe we can provide unique insight and expertise. First, we look at the announcement from Mojang that they are banning all NFT’s in Minecraft. Then, we discuss Dubai’s goal to create 40,000 blockchain and meta...

The metaverse is emerging from interactive entertainment, most notably the gaming sector, and there’s no better authority on everything happening in gaming than VentureBeat and GamesBeat’s Dean Takahashi. We discussed a range of topics about all things gaming and the metaverse including the evolution of gaming in the metaverse era, how that compare and contrasts with Meta Platforms’ view of the me...

On the ninth episode of This Week in the Metaverse (not the eighth as mistakingly said on the recording), Yon and Matthew break down Unity’s $4.4 billion announced acquisition of ironSource and what it means for Unity’s near-term and longer-term prospects as a metaverse infrastructure company. We also look at the impact of Disney accepting Polygon into its Accelerator program to develop AR, NFT an...

As the metaverse emerges, some applications and experiences today are already giving us a taste of what the ultimate end state of the metaverse may look like. Tim O’Reilly, CEO and Chairman of O’Reilly Media, a partner at early stage venture firm O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and the man who helped popularize the term Web 2.0 in the aftermath of dotcom crash, joins us to discuss the future of intera...

On the eighth episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon is still on vacation so Matthew is joined by Aaron Bush, the co-founder of Naavik. We broke down three news items that we thought were influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we believe we can provide unique expertise and analysis. First, we debate the need for blockchain in the metaverse and what role the technology can...

The man who coined the term “Metaverse” over 30 years ago, esteemed author and technology advisor, Neal Stephenson and his new business partner Peter Vessenes , the CEO, Chairman and Exec Founder of CoinLab and co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, join Yon and Matthew to have a wide-ranging discussion about all things metaverse and their new venture Lamina1 . We dove into many amazing topics incl...

On the seventh episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon is on vacation so Matthew is joined by Mario Stefanidis, the Vice President of Research at Roundhill Investments and one of our esteemed season 1 guests . We broke down three news items that we thought were influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we believe we can provide unique expertise and analysis. First, we look at...

China’s metaverse is set to evolve on a separate, parallel path to the rest of the world given consumption, regulatory and geopolitical differences. Alex Xu , the CEO of MultiMetaverse Inc, a leading animation company in China and formerly the CEO of games company Leyou Technologies, and Nina Xiang , a renowned author , award-winning journalist, and an expert on the Chinese venture capital and tec...

On the sixth episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Matthew and Yon break down three news items that are influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we can provide unique perspective and expertise. First, we dive into Tencent’s creation of a new XR unit to focus on building hardware and software for the metaverse. Next, we look at the creation of a new open standards setting body...

As large technology companies invest heavily to emerge as leaders in the metaverse, the risk remains that walled gardens extend from the social-mobile era of the Internet into the metaverse era. On this episode, we chat with Professor Udi Shapiro, an interdisciplinary scientist, Internet pioneer, artist, and proponent of e-democracy. He has been with the Weizmann Institute of Science since complet...

On the fifth episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Matthew and Yon break down three news items that are influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we can provide unique perspective and expertise. First, we discuss the departure of COO Sheryl Sandberg from her role at Meta Platforms (nee Facebook) and what it means for the company’s growth in the metaverse. Next, we dive into the...

Creators are flourishing with the proliferation of non-fungible tokens and web3 technologies, empowering them with new tools to better connect with fans and collectors. We were happy to be joined by Sutu who uses art and technology in new ways to tell stories including his latest project, Neonz , which explores the full potential of an AR Metaverse. We had a wide-ranging conversation with Sutu abo...

On the fourth episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Matthew and Yon break down three news items that are influential to the development of the metaverse and on which we can provide unique perspective and expertise. First, we look at the announcement of new UGC games from Sky Mavis from its Builders Program . Then, we dive into the financial results of Animoca Brands , the parent company of the Sa...

Venture investing in the metaverse is continuing at a rapid pace as investors seek to spot the next generation of multi-billion dollar tech leaders. Angela Dalton, the CEO at Signum Growth Capital and a venture partner at Griffin Gaming Partners, breaks down the outlook for VC investing in companies at the forefront of technologies and digital economies in the metaverse, what parts of the market a...

On the third episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon is back and he and Matthew break down three news items from the last week that are influential to the development of the metaverse. First, we look at Roblox’s hire of former Zynga CTO Nick Tornow as VP of Engineering for its Developer Team. Then, we dive into the rumors swirling about Apple’s upcoming RealityOS for a potential mixed reality h...

Unity is one of the few companies with advanced real-time 3d capabilities that is positioned to help usher in the metaverse era. Marc Whitten, the Senior Vice President of Create at Unity, joins the podcast to breakdown Unity’s growth in the metaverse, how Unity plans to unleash the creator economy by democratizing real-time 3d development tools, platform interoperability and the potential of web3...

On the second episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Matthew is joined by Brian Peganoff, an advisor to several games companies and previously the Senior Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at Glu Mobile, to break down three news items and how they impacting the development of the metaverse. They look at a16z’s new $600 million Games Fund One and $4.5 billion Crypto Fund Four, the M&a...

On this new sub-series of Into the Metaverse called This Week In the Metaverse, Matthew and Yon give a brief rundown of some of the biggest news and events in the broader metaverse space. This week, we discuss the turbulence in financial and crypto markets and their impact on the metaverse; Epic Games announcing their competitor to Roblox and how that fits into their strategy to conquer the metave...

Decentralization is a key trend in the metaverse, empowering users and creators and seeking to break down the walled gardens of current Internet platforms. Saro McKenna, the CEO of Dacoco, the creator of the largest NFT metaverse Alien Worlds, joins us to discuss the power of decentralized organizations, making web3 technologies more accessible to more users, building through the crypto market tur...

What’s it like starting a gaming company in the metaverse and web3 era? We chat with Joseph Kim, the CEO of LILA Games, about his outlook on the metaverse and web3 in gaming and how these megatrends influence product and team decisions in starting a new mobile game company. We also discuss why now may be the right time to start a gaming company based in India amid a flurry of tech growth and ventu...

The metaverse and web3 technologies are setting the creator economy into hyperdrive, creating myriad new investment opportunities, particularly in venture-stage companies. In this great episode of Into the Metaverse, Yon and Matthew speak with Jarrod Dicker, a Partner at TCG, about venture investing in the metaverse and web3, empowering creators and building communities.

As the metaverse emerges, it’s becoming increasingly evident that many are seeking to tackle some of the key technical challenges of the new platform with cryptocurrencies, blockchain and associated web3 technologies. Ryan Wyatt, the CEO of Polygon Studios, joins Mathew and Yon to discuss the future of web3 in the metaverse and gaming, how Polygon plans to invest more deeply in partnerships with c...

Welcome to season 2 of Into the Metaverse. Yon and Matthew are back after a short hiatus and taking the temperature of the metaverse and discussing some interesting new developments from the last few weeks. We discuss the intersection of web 3 technologies and the metaverse, the case for interoperability and just where we are in the metaverse development cycle. We also break down Nvidia’s Omnivers...