🔮 Metaproof

Hey friends, this is Sophia from 🔮 Metaproof, where we wrap things up for the week with top news on how the metaverse and web3 are changing industries, from fashion to sports and gaming to art and music.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.

💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

This edition is sponsored by the OG metaverse fashion peeps The Fabricant. They have been deep down the metaverse fashion rabbit hole since 2018 and are pioneers in every sense of the word. They are on a mission to change the fashion industry and are making great progress - check them out today!

Sponsored post

📲 By the numbers

• US fashion digital resale marketplace sales are estimated to hit nearly $20B this year and continue to grow by double digits through 2025. (Source)

• Over 30% of customers who are active on the metaverse have bought real-world items there, noted McKinsey research from 2022. (Source)

• The sports technology market shows no long-term signs of slowing with expectations that it will register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8% from 2021 to 2028. Sports fans are also relentlessly looking for sports content, with 53% of survey respondents in 2021 believing in a growing opportunity to respond to demand for always-on content. (Source)

• The 3D animation market is expected to reach $31.29B by 2028, thanks to adoption of visual effects in media and entertainment. More than 170 million people, for instance, use virtual reality in some capacity right now. (Source)

• The Cointelegraph Accelerator seeks to boost web3 startups. It will leverage the expertise of the global team of more than 150 people working and developing media products in 11 languages, targeting GameFi, DeFi, NFTs, web3 social, cross-chain and layer-2 solutions, and other segments of the broader web3 space. (Source)

📫 News & trends

👕 H&M gamifies circular fashion with metaverse-like experience on Roblox

H&M has teamed up with digital studio Dubit to launch H&M Loooptopia, a virtual experience on the Roblox platform that allows customers to create virtual wardrobes for their avatars in an immersive 3D environment with mini-games, events, and styling sessions.

This is the latest in a trend of retailers using metaverse activities to gamify the consumer experience. According to H&M's global head of brand experience for the metaverse Max Heirbaut, incorporating digital elements in its branding and shopping experience is a step toward reaching digital natives through fashion both in the real world and online.

What does it feel like entering Loooptopia? Interact within worlds like Rainbooow Fields, Neon Studiooo, and Fabric Fooorest, where you can build clothing pairings while enjoying music tracts as well as special effects recreating a runway feel. Trade with other players, take selfies, or recycle old clothes to unlock the ability to earn rare elements.

🛍️ Snap and Amazon Fashion create new AR shopping experience

Snap and Amazon Fashion have partnered to bring new virtual try-on (VTO) experiences to Snapchat users. The companies hope that their combined services will appeal to the estimated 1.4 billion people who will use augmented reality on their smartphones in 2023. Mobile shopping is a rapidly growing channel, with Amazon Fashion customers purchasing over one billion fashion items on mobile devices. Through this new partnership, the 363 million daily Snapchat users will initially have access to selected Amazon eyewear brands, including Maui Jim, Persol, Oakley, and Costa Del Mar. Eyewear is the first category for the VTO Shopping Lens partnership, which both companies plan to expand into additional categories.

💰 Fanatics selling its 60% stake in sports NFT firm Candy Digital: Report

Sports merchandiser Fanatics is selling its 60% stake in sports-focused NFT firm Candy Digital to a group led by financier Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, according to a CNBC report that cited an internal email.

While the terms of the deal are still publicly unknown, the internal email of Fanatics founder and executive chair Michael Rubin revealed that divesting their ownership stake was a “favorable” outcome for investors, particularly in an “imploding NFT market” seeing “precipitous” drops in its transaction volumes as well as prices. Rubin said the move allowed them to ensure investors can recoup most of their investment through cash or additional Fanatics shares.

Galaxy Digital established Candy Digital alongside entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and Fanatics in 2021, when the sports NFT market was booming. In October that year, Candy Digital raised $100M in series A funding at a $1.5B valuation.

₿ Web3 sports tech startup Play Today launches with $1.2m investment from Clive Mayhew

Tech entrepreneur and investor Clive Mayhew has poured $1.2M into Play Today, a web3 company that connects players worldwide through a digital golf experience. Play Today has created a digital wallet integrated into a golf scoring app, an NFT marketplace, and a golf metaverse, touted as a world first in using web3 technology to link the physical game of golf to digital wallets and an immersive online community experience. The Play Today digital wallet provides a variety of perks to members, such as access to an exclusive online community and additional features accessible via blockchain.

💵 Gaming giant Animoca scales back to $1B web3 funding amid weak market

Gaming platform Animoca Brands hopes to raise a slimmed-down target of $1B in the first quarter of 2023 - a fund that will be used toward web3 and metaverse investments. The amount is a seeming departure from the $2B commitment made in November, thought to be an adjustment due to a fragile market suffering from the aftermath of the FTX meltdown and significant losses in the crypto market. Previously, Animoca CEO Robby Yung disclosed to Nikkei that the company intended to establish a $2B fund, fueling ambitions to go global while supporting mid to late-stage web3 startups. According to Nasdaq, Animoca Brands executed the most metaverse deals in 2022, spanning support organizations, open metaverse platforms, and web3 game producers.

❓Is Pokémon coming to Fortnite? An investigation into those collab rumors

Fortnite maker Epic Games is quite the royalty of in-game collaborations, as shown by the sheer amount of licensed characters in its flagship video game, from Dragon Ball Z to Naruto to Star Wars. Now a recent Fortnite video appeared online and featured Ash, Pikachu, and Charizard from Pokemon - a fan-made video, but just the same sparked speculations about a potential collaboration.

Inverse offers three reasons it could happen:

1. It would print money, with the Pokemon series a likely profitable venture for Epic Games given its immense popularity

2. It’s the perfect Ash sendoff, given how his story arc in the show has finally ended after 25 years

3. There are plenty of anime collab precedents, making it highly plausible for Pokemon to join the fray

🏛️ Decentraland hosts first ever Metaverse Architecture and Design Biennale Embassy

Renowned metaverse platform Decentraland has revealed news of the launch of its upcoming Metaverse Architecture and Design Biennale, collaborating with metaverse agency Metancy and architecture studio Dearch.space to host the launch event on January 6th.

And what of the metaverse embassy? It will be the first metaverse architecture and design biennial, exhibiting different architectural pieces in the competition. The goal is to welcome like-minded architects to celebrate the festival and connect talents in the industry.

Open to the public for a month and expected to draw in more than 50,000 visitors (based on Decentraland Art Week’s success), the Biennale will host five days of events and lectures from architecture, metaverse, as well as design industry frontrunners. There will be over 10 expos by well-known names in architecture and design studios globally, and additionally 10 selected artists will showcase their work.

🌺 Takashi Murakami presents solo exhibition in Dubai

Renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, known for his Superflat aesthetic, is debuting his NFT project Murakami.Flowers at his first solo exhibition in Dubai, featured along with a selection of his iconic paintings, sculptures, and installations. Dubai has recently become a hub for NFTs, blockchain, and crypto, with the government actively promoting these technologies and even announcing its digital currency emCash. Murakami’s world is populated by iconic characters such as Mr. DOB, a mischievous creature inspired by animated figures like Doraemon and Mickey Mouse. The Dubai exhibition includes several new paintings from the Murakami.Flowers series, which is part of the artist’s bigger NFT project featuring pixelated flower paintings that pair his Superflat aesthetic with 1970s Japanese game nostalgia.

💳 Mastercard launches web3-based accelerator for musicians

Mastercard is entering the metaverse with a web3-based accelerator program designed to help link music artists to mentors and fans via NFTs and events in the virtual world.

Dubbed the Mastercard Artist Accelerator, the platform will harness web3 technologies on the Polygon blockchain in its goal to help five emerging artists - from DJs to producers to musicians - access the skills, tools, and overall access they need to forge a musical path in the growing digital economy.

And what’s in it for participants? Get access to special events, music releases, and other perks, along with a curriculum teaching you how to build and own your brand through web3 activities such as minting NFTs, representation in the virtual world, as well as community building.

🎆 Calvin Harris enters the metaverse for first ever VR concert (with dolphins)

It’s a metaverse party Scottish producer and DJ Calvin Harris is headlining with the announcement of his immersive virtual performance later this month on TikTok LIVE. Slated for Friday, January 13th, the star DJ’s first-ever VR concert is free for viewing in 2D through his official TikTok account. Fans in Europe and Asia, on the other hand, will be able to experience it in 3D via PICO virtual reality headsets. Harris himself will appear as a virtual avatar in the digitally animated performance that seeks to “take fans on a musical journey through Calvin’s virtual universe.”

🐭 Down 44% in 2022, this entertainment giant's stock is set up for long-term potential

Disney is gearing up for a future that could treat investors for years to come. Disney’s stock has recently been struggling: the House of Mouse stock is down over 19% in the last five years, and in 2022 alone lost around 44% of its value.

But it has room to grow, particularly in light of the entertainment behemoth committing to innovative entertainment via new technologies. Last year, Disney made good on its promise of creating digital experiences, keenly aware that business models need to be developed to ensure its competitiveness.

It is now tapping into the potential that the metaverse, web3, blockchains, and augmented reality have to offer. In fact, one of the most noteworthy inductees in its Accelerator Program is the blockchain Polygon, which has risen to fame in the last few years for its sheer usefulness in NFTs and web3.

🍃 Azuki celebrates 1st anniversary, announces release of Hilumia

“Welcome to Hilumia 🌱: The crossroads of the Garden. A growing city shaped and built by the community. The past, present, and future of Azuki.” And so web3 anime universe Azuki tweeted, announcing the release of its metaverse city Hilumia, seen as an immersive version of Azuki’s Mindmap. Hilumia features various locations such as Slowpoke’s Toy Haven, Ember Square, Golden Skate Park, Garden Express, and Food For Thought. The release coincides with the first anniversary of Azuki, a collection of 10,000 unique, generative avatar NFTs launched on January 12, 2022.

💸 Finance buzz

• Morningstar Ventures, a Dubai-based investment firm specializing in digital assets and blockchain technology, has invested over $5M in its first interactive and immersive digital art gallery called 37xDubai. (Source)

• Web3 music platform Pianity raised $6.5M in a seed round in March 2022, enabling it to keep building its platform and launch initiatives like Pianity Band, a series of quests and challenges rewarding users with the native token $PIA. (Source)

• Hologram company Proto, whose displays can showcase NFTs, joins auction house Christie’s VC portfolio after multiple collaborations as its fourth portfolio company after multiple collaborations. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

--

All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.