🔮 Metaproof

Metaproof is a media company that covers the business of the metaverse. We keep you informed how the metaverse and web3 are changing YOUR industry.

🔮 Metaproof is a weekly newsletter that aggregates all of the top stories from each of our industry-specific newsletters so you get a holistic view on what is going on.

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

📲 By the numbers

• Roblox, the popular online gaming platform that will host the NFL’s first Super Bowl metaverse concert, has reported the following numbers (Source):

  • Its quarter saw the fastest YoYgrowth in daily active users that range from 17 to 24 years old, which saw an increase of 41%.

  • Roblox’s daily active users that are older than 13 years old grew by 34% YoY and accounted for 54% of all daily active users.

• This Ipsos survey of 19,504 online adults ages 16-74 from 28 countries (back in November to December 2021) shows which areas of life people think will be most affected by AI in the next 3-5 years. Of the respondents, these percentages expect most of the changes brought about by AI will affect: 35% education, 33% safety, 32% employment, 31% shopping, 30% transportation, 27% entertainment, 26% cost living, and 23% home. (Source)

• A CryptoPunk, worth a minimum of $100,000, was traded for a full set of tokens from a collection called The Memes. The Memes collection, which declares viral images as "the most important thing in the world," was virtually unknown in the NFT market three months ago but has now increased in value 19-fold to 52,916 ETH or $83M, according to NFTGo data. (Source)

📫 News & trends

🏀 Metaproof Sports

🔗 OKX, Manchester City FC team up for sports metaverse

Manchester City Football Club has teamed up with cryptocurrency exchange OKX, the world’s second largest based on trading volume, to create a unique sports metaverse experience for its fans. This collaboration, which aims to bring fans closer to the action via immersive experiences, featured legends such as Alex Greenwood, Jack Grealish, Rúben Dias, and Ilkay Gündoğan.

The Collective will offer fans a sports metaverse environment complete with bespoke content and rewards, while each player will feature content based on playing style and interests such as training, music, and NFTs. We’re eager to watch the action closely as OKX serves as Manchester City’s official training kit partner for the 2022-23 season.

🕶 Metaproof Fashion

💃 Ready Player Me launches trial of generative AI avatar creator

Ready Player Me is pushing the boundaries of avatar customization with its latest feature: generative AI letting players create their own unique outfits. As the default provider of digital avatars for the metaverse - with more than 6,000 apps and games already signed up - Ready Player Me is poised to be the go-to platform for players looking to stand out in virtual worlds.

With the power of Dall-E's generative AI art platform, players can craft individual outfit pieces to their exact specifications, giving them even greater control over their digital appearance.

“We’re just launching RPM Labs, which is like the experimental part of the product where we try all kinds of new features, and this is the first version of that,” noted CEO Timmu Tõke, to GamesBeat. This new development is deemed a major step forward for avatar customization and an exciting development for gamers everywhere.

🎮 Metaproof Gaming

✨ Dave & Buster’s enters the metaverse with a line of games on Roblox

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is bringing its signature mix of food, drinks, and games to the virtual world with the launch of Dave & Buster's World on Roblox. This interactive and immersive digital experience promises to bring the energy and excitement of the actual Dave & Buster's to life, providing players with a new way to enjoy the classic fun of this beloved chain.

Developed by MELON, a prominent studio and creator on Roblox, Dave & Buster's World features games such as GridIron Blitz™ and Full Tilt™, Superball Dash, and Zombie Survival. These games offer a diverse range of experiences, from fast-paced action to challenging strategy, providing players with a taste of the fun that Dave & Buster's is known for.

🎥 Metaproof Media, Entertainment, IP

👩🏻‍⚖️ Hermès defeats Metabirkins in the first NFT trademark trial (1)

The much-publicized lawsuit between Hermès International SA and digital artist Mason Rothschild over the sale of MetaBirkin NFTs has come to a conclusion, with the jury ruling in favor of Hermès and awarding the company $133,000 in damages. Here’s what we know so far:

• The jury found that Rothschild's NFTs were not protected speech under the First Amendment, a decision that could influence pending and future NFT cases that test the line between art and consumer products. Rothschild had argued that his NFTs were works of art protected by the First Amendment.

• The verdict raises important questions about the role of NFTs in the art world and the extent to which they can be regulated, finding a balance between protecting the rights of artists and safeguarding the interests of established brands.

• Physical Birkin bags range in price from $12,000 to close to $200,000. Rothschild first sold the NFTs for around $450 each, but their resale value skyrocketed to tens of thousands of dollars.

Stay tuned for further updates on this case and its impact on the NFT landscape.

🎵 Metaproof Music

🏈 NFL reveals first Super Bowl 'metaverse' concert in Roblox

The National Football League (NFL) is making a big push into the virtual world as it launches a virtual Super Bowl concert on multiplayer online game Roblox, featuring hip-hop artist Saweetie. Ed Kiang, the NFL’s VP of Video Gaming, described the virtual concert as “an anchor entertainment event bringing fans together in the metaverse.”

The concert was developed in partnership with metaverse game developer Gamefam and is sponsored by Intuit - the same firms that assisted the NFL in creating NFL Super Tycoon, another Roblox experience that will give players the chance to simulate the experience of being an NFL team owner.

This move into the virtual world is not new for the NFL, which has previously experimented with blockchain-backed endeavors such as offering NFT ticket stubs at over 100 games in partnership with TicketMaster. Roblox proves to be a sound platform for its cause with its 57.8 million daily users.

🎨 Metaproof Art

🧬 Art Heist brings new life to dead painters through science and NFTs

The anonymous artist duo DAT.XYZ is pulling off a marvelous fine art heist by creating art through the use of microbiological samples taken from famous works of art. The duo has taken samples from iconic pieces and created new artworks in their laboratory, turning their findings into "New Fungus Tokens", a unique take on NFTs.

A few choice details:

• The duo has so far taken samples from works produced by Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Banksy, Jeff Koons, and Kaws, to name a few. According to Hypemoon, they were assured that the works were treated with utmost care despite the samples being taken without authorization.

• The “heists” have taken place in institutions such as MoMA, New York, The Tate, London, Moco Museum, and Amsterdam.

• Once taken back to the laboratory, the growth of each artwork is captured on industrial high-resolution 8k cameras, then processed into a collection of evolving video loops.

• DAT.XYZ has also created an "unauthorized augmented reality exhibition" by taking videos or scans of the room, allowing viewers to experience the new artworks in a virtual space.

Groundbreaking yet extremely polarizing? Let’s see how things play out in this novel space.

👩‍💻 Metaproof AI

💻 Microsoft to power Bing with AI as race with Google heats up

Microsoft gives its search engine Bing and web browser Edge a powerful upgrade in an effort to challenge Google's popular AI chatbot Bard. Bing's new AI-powered search engine will deliver faster and more relevant results, will feature a chatbot to help refine user queries, and seeks to offer a more personalized search experience that sets it apart from the competition.

Microsoft also joined forces with OpenAI to market its AI technology to cloud customers, as OpenAI's powerful language model, ChatGPT, enables the tech giant to provide customers with an AI-powered virtual assistant to help them get more done in less time.

The announcement came a day after Google revealed it is releasing Bard, also in response to the huge success of ChatGPT.

💸 Finance buzz

• Microsoft stock rose 4.2% to close at 267.56 amid excitement over the capabilities of generative AI technology, such as ChatGPT, boosting AI stocks generally. (Source)

• Latent Technology, based in London, has raised $2.1M to develop advanced animation technology for virtual worlds and gaming avatars. In contrast to the existing system, which uses hundreds of manually crafted animations, this business uses AI-driven animation and genuine physical laws to allow virtual characters to move in a really precise manner in real time. (Source)

• Senrama Interactive launched its new metaverse entertainment studio, building a location-independent team of creators, writers, coders, and game designers and leveraging technologies such as blockchain finance solutions, AI, and 3D world engines to create a blockchain portal, games and story content distributed via PC, mobile/desktop media, applications and web3. (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.