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- Sorare & Premier League tie-up, ChatGPT’s own AI detector tool and more
Sorare & Premier League tie-up, ChatGPT’s own AI detector tool and more
LV’s iconic dots in AR, Azuki Twitter hack, and more top stories this week
Metaproof Team
February 03, 2023
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📲 By the numbers
Decentralized web3 music streaming service Audius, which has over 7 million monthly listeners and over 250,000 artists, offers services to musicians who wish to share their most exclusive content with their followers. In July 2022, Audius announced a new feature for creators to monetize their content by allowing listeners to send tips to artists. (Source)
AI adoption in retail and consumer products is expected to increase from 38% in 2022 to more than 75% by 2028, according to SkyQuest.
The machine learning segment registered 23.7% CAGR in 2022 and is anticipated to cross a 27% growth rate by 2028.
The market for metaverse transactions is predicted to reach $6.1B in 2023 and $42B by 2026, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. (Source)
Over the past decade, the number of VR and AR deals in the fashion industry has been steadily rising. In 2013, the industry saw 33 deals worth $465M, which skyrocketed in 2021 to 311 deals worth over $18.9B through venture financing, private equity, and equity offerings. (Source)
📫 News & trends
Sorare, the $4.3B fantasy soccer game with 3 million users worldwide, has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with the Premier League that will see the world’s top soccer league license official player cards. Players of the game will be able to purchase and use official Premier League-licensed NFTs under the exclusive multi-year deal.
The news comes amid a sharp slump in NFT trading activity, facing a "crypto winter" and the challenges from the recent FTX bankruptcy. Sorare was said to be sheltered from the fallout of the crash on crypto-focused sports advertising as the firm focused on licensing of intellectual property rather than sponsorships.
There are questions around Sorare's model of income generation, relying on big-spending power users that may not be sustainable in the long term. Sorare has also come under fire over accusations that it encourages gambling, with a probe from the UK Gambling Commission as well as some enforced changes to the platform after action taken by the French National Gambling Authority.
At any rate, with the Premier League's global reach and Sorare's growing user base, this partnership is poised to bring new levels of excitement to fantasy soccer.
Louis Vuitton has partnered with Snapchat to bring Yayoi Kusama's iconic dots to a series of augmented reality landmarks around the world. The collaboration is a testament to the connection between the physical and digital realms, showcasing the evolution of the web through augmented reality.
For Louis Vuitton, AR represents a new playground for creativity and experimentation. The partnership builds on previous efforts, including a rendering of Virgil Abloh's Keepall bag in AR and a Kusama-inspired pumpkin face filter.
The use of AR is becoming increasingly popular among brands seeking to create unique and engaging experiences for customers. By combining their products with the power of AR, brands can bring their stories to life and offer a memorable, immersive activation.
The gaming industry is constantly evolving and the recent advancements in mixed reality and metaverse gaming are no exception. With the upcoming release of the PlayStation VR2 and Meta Quest headsets, developers are eagerly anticipating the potential of these new technologies.According to a recent survey:
18% of developers plan to release their next game on the PS VR2.
35% of developers expressed interest in the PS VR2, while 39% showed interest in the Meta Quest headset.
The potential of the metaverse has not gone unnoticed, with 14% of surveyed developers believing that Fortnite will be the team to deliver on its promise.
Not everyone is convinced. 45% of developers remain skeptical about the potential of the metaverse. One respondent even stated that the metaverse needs cheaper and better hardware, as well as a unique experience that cannot be found elsewhere.
As the industry continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see how the mixed reality and metaverse gaming experiences develop. Will the PS VR2 and Meta Quest be the game changers the industry needs, or will they fall short of expectations? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, the future of gaming is an exhilarating one.
In the world of digital entertainment, the Brave Group and Animoca Brands Japan have come together in an alliance to drive forward the development of web3 and intellectual properties (IPs) in the industry.
Established in 2017, Brave Group is engaged in several verticals in the metaverse, such as its IP business handling RIOT MUSIC and Vspo. Animoca, set up in October 2021, is actively engaged in creating its own web3 ecosystem, heavily investing in blockchain games, the metaverse, DeFi, and crypto wallets across the globe.
The Brave Group, whose CEO Keito Noguchi dubbed it synonymous with the building of high-end IPs, has announced funding of approximately 300M yen with the newly formed alliance. The fund is likely going toward overall expansion plans and work on global development in the virtual space; together with it, the firm’s overall funding now reaches 3.04B yen. The Brave Group aims to "Strike Wonder in 8 billion hearts" through its IP development, while Animoca seeks to back the development of prime Japanese IPs, thus its alliance with Brave.
Warner Music Group and Spinnin' Records have joined forces for the virtual release party of the "World's Biggest Demo Drop" DJ talent contest. The winners will have their music released as NFTs through LGND Music, a subsidiary of WMG. The details:
The release party, which runs from January 26 to February 8, will be held in The Sandbox virtual world, a gaming platform that allows users to create, share, and monetize content in a virtual universe. The Sandbox offers a new platform for fans to experience and engage with music, while also providing a new revenue stream for artists.
The virtual release party combines the worlds of music and gaming, allowing fans to access new music through NFTs.
The NFT release gives the winners of the DJ talent contest exposure and the opportunity to monetize their music.
The recent crypto crash has led to decreased value for NFTs and virtual real estate, including the land owned by Warner Music Group in The Sandbox. Yet overall, the virtual release party demonstrates the potential for NFTs to disrupt the music industry and provide new opportunities for artists and fans alike.
NFTs are all the rage in the art world, and the latest collection to make waves is the Grails III collection from Proof. Weeks of anticipation has led to the announcement of the 20 artists behind the collection, including generative artist Matt Kane; All Seeing Seneca, the digital artist that helped craft art for Bored Ape Yacht Club; and Josie Bellini, founder of NFT collection Cyber Brokers.
The collection opened its mint passes for collectors to purchase ahead of the artwork reveal. This is the third iteration of Proof's mystery NFT compilation series, and it's already generating a lot of buzz. However, it's worth noting that the purpose of the collection is to let the digital work speak for itself, rather than relying on the creators behind it.
Proof is a prolific player in the NFT ecosystem, landing itself on the map for its Moonbirds NFT collection, which raked in $200M in sales upon its release in April.
👩💻 Metaproof AI
OpenAI has launched a new tool aimed at helping teachers detect if text was written by a student or by an artificial intelligence program. The tool is a response to growing concerns that the use of AI technology in academic settings could fuel academic dishonesty and hinder learning. The details so far:
ChatGPT has been banned in public schools in several states in Australia, and as a result OpenAI has been working to craft new guidelines for educators, part of which is this new tool to detect AI-written text.
OpenAI emphasized the limitations of its detection tool, but said that besides deterring plagiarism it could help to detect automated disinformation campaigns and other misuse of AI to mimic humans.
The longer a passage of text, the better the tool is at detecting if an AI or human wrote something.
While some may view the concern over AI-written text as "overblown," it is still important to take steps to address academic integrity. Educators are urged to continue to look for ways to mitigate the risks associated with AI in the classroom and promote the responsible use of technology in academic settings.
💸 Finance buzz
Fantasy soccer game Sorare is the 3rd biggest NFT collection worldwide. The firm processes roughly $1M worth of transactions in a 24-hour period, CryptoSlam’s figures show. (Source)
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone joins the board of audiovisual startup Chroma. Exploring ways users could interact with audio and sound whether for play, meditation, relaxation, or music composition - lending itself well to the ubiquitous “metaverse equipment” - Chroma raised $5.4M in seed funding in 2022. (Source)
Over the past decade, the number of VR and AR deals in the fashion industry has been steadily rising. In 2013, the industry saw 33 deals worth $465M, which skyrocketed in 2021 to 311 deals worth over $18.9B through venture financing, private equity, and equity offerings. (Source)
London-based metaverse company Emperia obtained $10M in a Series A funding round for the creation of virtual retail spaces for fashion brands. The funding was spearheaded by Base10 partners and supported by additional investors. (Source)
Spatial Labs, a web3 startup, has received $10M in seed funding to develop the LNQ One Chip, a tiny computer chip that can be integrated into clothing to link it to the blockchain. (Source)
🗣️ Quote of the week
“Releasing music NFTs is a long game. If your goal is to reap all the rewards today, you have the wrong mindset. Bring people into your world.”
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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.
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