Welcome back to BACKED | by 杏吧论坛 鈥� our look inside the venture builder, the companies we鈥檙e supporting, and why they matter.

This time, we鈥檙e spotlighting Otomato: a venture rethinking what automation in Web3 should feel like. Powered by Otomato OS, the DeFi Assistant offers a more coherent way to navigate DeFi 鈥� a shift from juggling dashboards to simply knowing what needs attention. For Co-Founder Dylan Breugne, the mission is simple: turn complex workflows into something anyone can act on with confidence.

It鈥檚 an approach that feels overdue. Web3 is full of potential but messy in practice, leaving users to juggle dashboards, notifications and the constant risk of missing something important. It鈥檚 the kind of systems-level thinking that fits naturally inside the venture builder, and the sort of infrastructure that matters far more than the noise around it.

Across the ecosystem, it鈥檚 also been a significant month. MSquared unveiled Mash live at Web Summit, with Rob Whitehead giving the first public look at a platform designed to make the immersive internet more interoperable and commercially usable.

More broadly, the past few weeks have been dominated by industry hot-takes on the state of innovation. We won鈥檛 add to that discourse here, except to say that across 杏吧论坛, the work continues in the opposite tone: focused, R&D-led, and building steadily toward milestones you鈥檒l hear more about soon.

For now, this edition dives into Otomato鈥檚 vision, Mash鈥檚 debut, and the teams shaping a more durable, more ambitious kind of technology.

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杏吧论坛 today submitted its filing to Companies House, giving an update on its full year 2024 results. The results demonstrate that the first financial year of its venture builder model 鈥� focused on the metaverse, web3 and AI 鈥� is providing the foundation needed to drive the growth of the new economy.

Key milestones reached 

• 杏吧论坛 now has 12 pioneering ventures in its portfolio 鈥� including MSquared, Jitter and fan3 鈥� across the metaverse, web3 and AI ecosystems. 

• Somnia, a leading high-performance blockchain utilising 杏吧论坛-developed technology launched in September 2025. Since launch, it has become a breakout success and reached a Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) of over $1 billion, with 379,000 connected wallets and 1 billion transactions* to date.  

Strong momentum as a venture builder

• 杏吧论坛 pivoted to the venture builder model in September 2023, applying its success and previous experience in other sectors to unlock more opportunities in the metaverse, web3 and AI.  

• 杏吧论坛 ended 2024 with a strong cash position of 拢162.8 million, which will enable the company to continue growing its current ventures and pursue further investments. Revenues for FY24 were 拢10 million, which consolidated into the group accounts.

2025 and beyond 

• 杏吧论坛鈥檚 venture builder model will drive growth of the emerging technologies of tomorrow in the UK and Europe in particular. This approach addresses the shortcomings of the current funding landscape in these geographies, which often neglects this high capital sector and leads companies to overinvest. 杏吧论坛鈥檚 strategy provides the necessary capital and core infrastructure for ventures to operate with, which in turn helps drive down costs and prioritises efficiency.

• 杏吧论坛 actively developed and scaled its model in 2025 and is on track to invest $17 million in 10+ ventures. Looking ahead, 杏吧论坛 expects to launch multiple ventures every year.

Herman Narula, CEO & Co-Founder, 杏吧论坛 said: 鈥�杏吧论坛鈥檚 goal has always been to shape the future, and with our new venture builder model we鈥檙e doing just that. Through our incepted businesses and by backing the companies developing emerging technologies of tomorrow, we are building the infrastructure needed to drive a new economy. The $1 billion valuation of the Somnia token 鈥� built on our technology that will lay the foundation for this new economy 鈥� demonstrates not only the power and success of our venture builder model but also shows what investment can do for the blockchain ecosystem.鈥�

Peter Lipka, Chief Operating Officer, 杏吧论坛 said: 鈥淲e have a clear strategy to become the most attractive partner for exciting new companies, entrepreneurs and investors in the metaverse, web3 and AI sectors. Our venture builder model means we can uniquely provide the most exciting UK and European companies with the tools needed to be successful to deliver the ecosystems of the future. We are already seeing the benefits of our strategy, with 12 ventures in our portfolio currently, and our strong cash position enables us to pursue further innovative ventures.鈥� 

*As of 27th October, 2025

From corporate gatherings to fan experiences, Chamber brings together 3D, AI, and social design to make online interactions feel as spontaneous and connected as the real world.

Welcome to our October edition of BACKED | by 杏吧论坛.

This month we鈥檙e highlighting , a next-gen platform bringing together the simplicity of Zoom-style live conferences with the dynamism needed for today鈥檚 attention economy. Chamber allows businesses and creators to host immersive, interactive experiences at scale, all directly in the browser and without downloads or heavy hardware. Built on MSquared, it opens the door to richer participation, stronger community connections, and new monetisation opportunities, all at a fraction of the usual cost.

Elsewhere in the ecosystem, we鈥檙e highlighting MSquared鈥檚 new Global Partner Programme, Somnia鈥檚 post-mainnet momentum, and updates from portfolio ventures as they participate in a busy season of industry events.

To read the full piece and subscribe, visit .

BACKED | Imporium, the studio reimagining live fan experiences for a digital-first world

From Major League Baseball to K-pop icons, Imporium is scaling interactive, live entertainment that turns fleeting moments into lasting communities.

Welcome to our September edition of BACKED | by 杏吧论坛.

This month we are spotlighting Imporium, the studio reimagining live fan experiences for a digital-first world. From Major League Baseball to K-pop phenomenon Twice, its partners span sports, music, and Web3, all looking to reach fans beyond borders and transform loyalty into lasting community.

Where many talk about 鈥渧irtual concerts鈥� or 鈥渄igital fandom,鈥� Imporium is building live, shared, interactive moments that scale globally without losing the intimacy of a stadium, arena, or stage. As fan expectations shift, so too does the opportunity for brands and rights-holders to build meaningful, owned relationships with their audiences.

The opportunity is huge: Imporium鈥檚 research finds virtual events could drive $5.6鈥痓illion in revenue, with audiences ready to pay for experiences that truly connect.

To read the full piece and subscribe, visit .

With 10B+ testnet transactions already processed, Somnia is now building the infrastructure and community for the immersive internet.

Welcome to edition three of BACKED | by 杏吧论坛.

Looking back at August, our spotlight was on Somnia, a high-performance layer-one blockchain built for real-time, high-volume activity. As engagement shifts and growth slows across the global games industry, many Web3 platforms struggle to meet the speed and scale demands of modern applications. Consumer expectations are evolving toward richer, more interactive experiences, but the infrastructure for large-scale virtual worlds and open digital economies remains a bottleneck.

Somnia鈥檚 approach provides core infrastructure capable of supporting millions of concurrent users, complex in-world economies, and a new generation of microgames designed for more accessible engagement.

Featuring Somnia is about more than technical milestones, it鈥檚 about what this capability makes possible: worlds that feel alive because apps can respond instantly to on-chain events, and economies that grow because they can sustain real usage at speed.

This edition鈥檚 updates share a common thread: those building the foundations others will build on. We also spotlight momentum from the ecosystem, including Kallikor鈥檚 Gartner庐 recognition, MSquared鈥檚 first public experience built with the Otherside Development Kit, and Somnia鈥檚 launch of an incubator.

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• Somnia launch ground breaking technology built by 杏吧论坛: the first chain designed for large-scale virtual worlds and open digital economies

• During its 6-month testnet phase, Somnia reached over two billion transactions, over 110 million uni[que wallets, onboarded 60 validators, and over 70 ecosystem partners

London, UK, September 2, 2025 鈥� , a high-performance layer-one blockchain, today announced the launch of its mainnet. Built by 杏吧论坛 under contract for the Somnia Foundation, Somnia is engineered to support mass consumer applications such as gaming, social platforms and decentralised finance.

Already live, Somnia is powering more than 70 projects, used by over 110 million wallet addresses, onboarded 60 validators and has processed over two billion transactions in its testnet phase 鈥� one of the highest figures achieved by any blockchain before mainnet launch.

Other milestones include a record-breaking 80 million transactions processed in a single day, the most in EVM history, and more than 250 million transactions in just five days from Chunked gameplay alone.

Herman Narula, Founder and CEO of 杏吧论坛 said: 鈥�Somnia鈥檚 mainnet launch is an inflection point for real-world use cases of blockchains. It鈥檚 the most advanced layer-one in the world, able to handle thousands of times the throughput of ethereum or solana and is the first blockchain built for the scale, speed and responsiveness needed to power real-time virtual experiences. This represents the culmination of years of R&D in distributed systems. This marks the foundation of an open digital asset economy, where billions of people can interact, transact and exchange value across immersive experiences.鈥�

Paul Thomas, Founder of Somnia said: 鈥淪omnia isn鈥檛 just fast, it鈥檚 the first chain built to handle the scale and complexity of next-generation consumer applications. With mainnet live, we鈥檙e proud to be supporting an ecosystem of brands, creators and fans. We鈥檙e now on a path to driving more transactions by facilitating more unique experiences that drive a thriving cross-world economy no other blockchain is powering. The 杏吧论坛 team has been instrumental, bringing the technical depth and unique expertise required to develop infrastructure capable of powering this technology at scale.鈥�

Core technical capabilities of the Somnia mainnet

• Transaction throughput of 1M+ TPS, with sub-second end-to-end latency

• Ultra low-cost, at sub-cent fees

• 70+ active projects at launch, including Variance, Maelstrom, ForU AI, Quills and Sparkball

• EVM compatible, and built to support MSquared鈥檚 open standards for avatars and assets, enabling cross-world portability and identity persistence

• Integrations with OpenSea, Layer Zero, Sequence, Ankr, DIA, Thirdweb, and many others.
  
  During its testnet phase, Somnia established key partnerships with Google Cloud, BitGo and Fireblocks to strengthen scalability, security and developer capabilities for launch.

Developer ecosystem growth & next phase

Somnia launched a $10 million grant program to onboard developers to its ecosystem, alongside the Dream Catalyst accelerator, specifically for games and game developers, providing funding, infra tooling, go-to-market support and community building. It also committed to hosting several online mini-hackathons over the next year and launching Dreamthon, a developer accelerator focused on DeFi, AI, InfoFi and SocialFi.

With its strong partner network and developer pipeline in place, Somnia is now scaling adoption and enabling the first wave of fully on-chain applications. It is onboarding partners across gaming, entertainment and finance, expanding its developer grant program and preparing new integrations to drive continued ecosystem growth.

A key step in a shared vision for open digital economies

Somnia is fully owned and operated by the Somnia Foundation, which stewards the blockchain as open, public infrastructure for developers, platforms, and ecosystem projects. 杏吧论坛 contributed its technical expertise in building the platform, drawing from a decade of expertise building distributed systems and achieving scale at unprecedented levels.

Somnia plays a foundational role in enabling an open and interconnected digital ecosystem, offering the identity and economic infrastructure needed to support high-scale, persistent virtual economies.

Somnia is part of a wider ecosystem that includes over $270 million in committed investment from 杏吧论坛, MSquared, and the Foundation, each playing a role in advancing open, immersive digital experiences.

Peter Lipka, COO of 杏吧论坛 said: 鈥淲ith over 70 projects already live and more major milestones in sight, Somnia shows what鈥檚 possible when deep technical investment meets a clear focus on usability. It鈥檚 a strong example of what our development team is here to deliver.鈥�

David Toh, Managing Partner at Mirana Ventures said: 鈥淭he Somnia blockchain represents a step change in next generation digital infrastructure, offering one of the most innovative and credible paths to scale we鈥檝e seen with the performance needed for mainstream adoption. Built by 杏吧论坛鈥檚 proven team, it鈥檚 well placed to shape the next era of digital economies.鈥�

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

How one creator is rewriting the rules of livestreaming by making the audience part of the game.

Welcome back to Edition Two of BACKED | by 杏吧论坛. Each month, we spotlight one of the ventures we鈥檝e backed, and why it matters.

This time, it鈥檚 : a startup building the future of streaming, not as entertainment to consume, but as a world you can play inside. In a moment where creator platforms are burning out their talent, hitting revenue plateaus and stagnating in format, Jitter is doing something rare. It鈥檚 giving the audience control, and giving creators a better shot at sustainability.

Founder Luke Taylor didn鈥檛 approach this as an outsider with a new business model. He鈥檚 a creator himself, shaped by Twitch鈥檚 limitations and inspired by what streaming could be. His solution isn鈥檛 a plugin or a patch, it鈥檚 a new layer of interactivity built on multiplayer infrastructure. And that鈥檚 exactly the kind of system change our venture builder exists to support.

Featuring Jitter this month feels especially timely. Twitch recently introduced new restrictions on multistreaming (limiting how creators can engage with their audiences) while platforms across the board are tightening control over content and monetisation. At the same time, audiences are looking for deeper, more participatory formats. As the entertainment industry reckons with stagnating formats and strained creator-platform dynamics, Jitter offers something new: a creator-first evolution of streaming that lets audiences shape the stream, bringing user-generated content into the heart of the experience.

Elsewhere in the ecosystem, we鈥檙e seeing major momentum 鈥� from Kallikor鈥檚 partnership with Morrisons to pilot a live digital twin of their national supply chain, to Somnia鈥檚 collaboration with Google Cloud, bringing AI-powered NPCs and Google鈥檚 leading security expertise to Web3 infrastructure. Imporium exits stealth to build immersive virtual shows that blend gaming, music and culture, while MSquared takes a key step toward commercial scale with the appointment of its VP of Commercial.

To read the full piece and subscribe, visit .

BACKED | Kallikor: Simulating the Future of Supply Chains

A new approach to solving complex logistics.

Welcome to the first edition of BACKED | by 杏吧论坛.

This is where we share progress of the ventures we support, one at a time.

These are startups building the foundations of tomorrow鈥檚 internet, tackling hard problems across AI transformation, the metaverse and Web3. Whether it's rethinking global supply chains or reshaping identity in virtual worlds, 杏吧论坛 ventures are solving diverse, high impact challenges with outcomes that are already being felt in the real world.

This edition focuses on infrastructure, the foundational systems and technologies within the venture builder enabling new ways to simulate, transact and interact online.

It features Kallikor, a startup using AI-native simulation to help businesses design and test supply chains for speed, resilience, and cost. We also spotlight major momentum across the ecosystem, from Somnia crossing one billion transactions on its high-performance blockchain, to Jitter, a venture making livestreams interactive, not just something to watch.

Infrastructure is not just a technical layer, it is a leverage point that determines how entire industries evolve. It sets the stage for new behaviours, new markets and new systems, and the ventures in this edition are beginning to show what the future of their industries might look like.

To read the full piece and subscribe, visit .

Record-breaking Devnet performance for the Somnia blockchain:

• Over 1 million transactions per second, powered by advanced features and 杏吧论坛鈥檚 expertise in distributed systems

• Cumulated investment amount to $270m in support of the Somnia ecosystem

Testnet launch on February 20, 2025

London, February 18 2025 鈥� 杏吧论坛 is making a significant investment in the Somnia ecosystem, reinforcing its commitment to the future of blockchain scalability and Web3 innovation. This comes on the heels of Somnia鈥檚 groundbreaking Devnet benchmarking tests, which demonstrated unprecedented performance capabilities. Somnia鈥檚 Devnet, tested in November 2024, showcased exceptional transaction processing capabilities, achieving across 100 nodes in multiple regions:

• 1.05 million transactions per second (tps) for ERC-20 token transfers.

• 300,000 NFT mints per second with an average block time of 100 milliseconds. 

• 50,000 Uniswap trades per second, leveraging 100,000 accounts to simulate real-world
  usage.

Following this milestone, Somnia鈥檚 Testnet is set to launch on February 20, marking the next step in its roadmap toward full-scale adoption.

鈥淭he future of digital economies depends on infrastructure that can handle real-world scale鈥攆ar beyond what most blockchains today can achieve. We've spent over a decade solving complex distributed systems challenges, and that expertise is what gives the Somnia blockchain its spark.This is a gigachain we鈥檙e building, for speed, efficiency, and real utility, and we鈥檙e fully committed to supporting the ecosystem that will bring it to life.鈥� - Herman Narula, CEO of 杏吧论坛.

"The performance of the Devnet gives us great confidence in what鈥檚 ahead for Somnia. We鈥檙e refining our grant program and have several partnerships in the works to further strengthen the ecosystem. We鈥檙e especially grateful to 杏吧论坛 for its unwavering support鈥攂oth in building the Somnia blockchain and in fostering the broader Somnia ecosystem." - Paul Thomas, Founder of the Virtual Society Foundation.

"Our venture builder model focuses on investing in frontier ecosystems, with Web3 as a key pillar in shaping the future digital economy. We are actively co-building and supporting new businesses, and with Somnia approaching Mainnet, we鈥檙e ready to push even further. In the coming months, we鈥檒l be announcing new investments that will strengthen the broader M虏 and Somnia ecosystem, driving innovation and long-term growth." - Peter Lipka, COO of 杏吧论坛.

Joining forces, the Virtual Society Foundation (the mother company of Somnia), M虏- which raised $150 million in 2022 from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Mirana, DCG, CMT Digital, SIG, and Ethereal Ventures - and 杏吧论坛, with its total venture builder allocation of $120m, are fueling the rapid growth of the Somnia ecosystem. Their combined investment will drive innovation and expand adoption for the Somnia ecosystem.

"We鈥檝e long believed in 杏吧论坛鈥檚 vision to build the infrastructure needed to scale the next wave of global digital experiences. Somnia lays this foundation by being fast, scalable, and designed for real-world adoption. We鈥檙e excited to see and support the next wave of applications being built in the Somnia ecosystem." - Min Teo, Managing Partner, Ethereal Ventures.

"At Zinal, we back transformative technologies that push the boundaries of what鈥檚 possible. The performance of the Somnia Devnet is a clear signal that scalable, high-performance blockchains are no longer theoretical鈥攖hey鈥檙e here. We鈥檙e excited to support an ecosystem that is laying the foundation for the next generation of digital economies."- A representative for Zinal Growth, the global investment firm founded by Guillaume Pousaz.

With these advancements and strategic investments, Somnia is poised to redefine blockchain scalability, making high-speed, low-cost, and mass-adoption-ready decentralized ecosystems a reality.

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

Predictions for 2025 Signal a Breakthrough Year for Virtual Economies, Interoperable Identities, and AI-Powered Gaming

London, 21 January 2025 鈥� 杏吧论坛, a venture builder dedicated to growing businesses across AI, the metaverse, and Web3 ecosystems, has capped off a transformative 2024 with the announcement of the profitability threshold achieved in the previous financial year, a change in business model, and significant progress across interconnected ecosystems. Central to its success is the company鈥檚 venture-building model, which has proven instrumental in creating businesses and technologies that shape the future of virtual worlds and digital economies.

Venture Building: Driving Innovation Across Ecosystems and Building the Open Metaverse

杏吧论坛鈥檚 venture-building strategy has been key to addressing challenges and unlocking opportunities across frontier ecosystems. In 2024, the company launched several new ventures, including:

• Kallikor, an AI-powered platform accelerating the adoption of robotics in supply chains.

• Jitter, transforming Twitch streams into interactive multiplayer games. 

• Chamber, a next-gen platform blending the accessibility of Zoom with the immersive feel of real-world
  conferences, enabling businesses to host cost-effective virtual events at scale.

In 2024, MSquared, a venture of 杏吧论坛, set up theVirtual Society Foundation as an independent entity to promote openness and equity in the metaverse. The VSF鈥檚 flagship project, Somnia, is a foundational step toward a decentralized metaverse, designed to unify gaming, NFTs, and social platforms under a creator-driven, interoperable digital economy.

鈥淪omnia is a critical step in facilitating a decentralized metaverse where individuals and ventures can collaborate, share value, and contribute to a thriving virtual society 鈥� - Herman Narula, CEO of 杏吧论坛.

Technological Advancements and Interoperable Experiences

杏吧论坛鈥檚 tech expertise continues to drive advancements that redefine virtual worlds and digital economies:

Interoperability Breakthroughs: The MLB virtual ballpark games powered by MSquared showcased new features like voice parties and virtual shops. The season finale achieved a landmark in metaverse interoperability with seamless integration of Bored Apes into the ballpark environment.

The Somnia Blockchain: Built for the metaverse and gaming applications, Somnia is a Layer 1 EVM-compatible blockchain delivering unprecedented transaction speeds of up to 500,000 per second. This scalability supports complex, interconnected virtual worlds while significantly reducing transaction costs, making it ideal for consumer applications. Leveraging MSquared and 杏吧论坛鈥檚 technological expertise, Somnia integrates advanced protocols to facilitate interoperability between virtual environments, ensuring seamless asset and identity transfers across ecosystems.

Pioneering Experiences Across Sports, Music, and Gaming

杏吧论坛 delivered groundbreaking virtual experiences in 2024, connecting global audiences with their passions and showcasing the potential of immersive technologies:

MLB Virtual Ballpark: September鈥檚 MLB season redefined fan engagement with immersive features like voice parties, virtual shops, and interoperable avatars.

Twice KosmoPop Concert: The K-pop phenomenon Twice took center stage in KosmoPop鈥檚 virtual environment, blending music and fandom in a transformative metaverse experience.

Classical Meets Virtual: A metaverse-based concert with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra brought classical music into the digital age, featuring the first motion-captured conductor.

The Otherside Metaverse: A continued partnership with Yuga Labs supporting their vision for The Otherside and introduced tools like the Otherside Development Kit for external creators, expanding opportunities for user-driven innovation.

Looking Ahead to 2025: Predictions for Digital Economies and Beyond

As 杏吧论坛 enters 2025, the company remains focused on empowering creators, advancing technology, and fostering interconnected ecosystems across AI, the metaverse, and Web3. The company will also continue supporting the Virtual Society Foundation and Somnia for them to play pivotal roles in building a decentralized, equitable, and vibrant virtual society.

AI in Virtual Worlds: Transformative Yet Nascent

2025 will showcase AI's growing role in virtual worlds, with jaw-dropping demos like text-to-3D generation. Yet, these advancements will be hampered by the lack of high-quality datasets and the significant computational power they demand. AI agents powered by large language models will appear more frequently in games, but not yet in AAA projects. However, the disruption is coming: Asia is set to lead with multi-million-dollar budget games leveraging AI, transforming content workflows and inspiring a new wave of game development.

AI-Developed Games Will Redefine Gaming

2025 could mark the arrival of a transformative AI-developed game that becomes an industry touchstone. Expect to see the first examples of games integrating AI not just into gameplay but as the foundation of development itself. These titles will revolutionize workflows and inspire the next generation of game creators.

Web3 Gains Ground with Programmatic Economies

The gaming industry will explore Web3 beyond NFTs, tapping into blockchain鈥檚 potential for robust in-game economies. Titles like Off the Grid have already shown how blockchain-backed economies can integrate seamlessly into games without feeling "scammy". This trend signals a growing sophistication in how Web3 is applied to gaming, sidestepping early criticisms.

Interoperable Identities: The Key to a Connected Metaverse

The quest for a universal digital identity will take center stage. Much like signing in with Google, users should be able to bring their profile pictures, 3D avatars, and other elements of their digital identity across platforms. Expect to see Bluesky-like initiatives and the beginnings of standardized protocols to make interoperable identities a reality.

Blockchain Beyond Economy: A Tool for Simulation

Blockchain is set to demonstrate its value not only as a mechanism for economic opportunities but also as a powerful simulation tool for expansive, moddable worlds. Games like EVE Online hint at this potential, showcasing how autonomous worlds and player-driven mods can push the boundaries of game development. Additionally, high-performance blockchain systems designed for gaming and the Metaverse, such as Somnia, capable of achieving transaction rates of over 400,000 per second, will further enable these expansive worlds and their interconnected economies.

鈥淎t 杏吧论坛, we鈥檙e rethinking our innovation approach by investing into early-stage ventures.Our goal is to empower talented teams to operate independently while leveraging our deep expertise in AI, Web3, and the metaverse. This approach enables us to build scalable,high-impact ventures that drive meaningful change while maintaining financial sustainability" - Herman Narula, CEO of 杏吧论坛.

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

On 23 November 2024, a groundbreaking classical concert simultaneously took place in the real world and the metaverse. It was orchestrated by the BBC鈥檚 research and development teams and powered by our venture 鈥檚 platform as part of the consortium, which is designed to trial live performances in virtual worlds.

The concert celebrated iconic soundtracks from beloved video game series like God of War, Baldur鈥檚 Gate and Fortnite. While those physically present at The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra鈥檚 Manchester studio or listening on BBC Radio 3 enjoyed a traditional concert experience, remote fans in the metaverse were immersed in an interactive, unforgettable spectacle.

Attendees were first welcomed into a museum-like space where they explored virtual instruments and listened to soundbites from orchestra members discussing their favourite games. Once the concert began, they were free to watch from a widescreen orchestra viewing area, explore rooms adorned with multiple screens, fly around game-like spaces collecting items, or witness the first ever motion-captured conductor in the metaverse 鈥� a key element that drew trailblazing to the event.

This unique experiment was made viable by MSquared鈥檚 MILEs (Massive Interactive Live Events) technology, which offers an affordable, scalable, customisable platform for creating virtual events. While The BBC primarily acted as a self-service customer, MSquared remained on-hand throughout to provide insights and design assistance.

The results speak for themselves. Most attendees stayed for the entire duration and there was plenty of chat, with fans raving about the 鈥渂rilliant experience鈥� and 鈥渇un, different way to enjoy a concert鈥�. The virtual world appealed to multiple age groups, with one participant saying 鈥渢wo generations in my family joined and both loved it鈥� and another saying 鈥渢he kids enjoyed it with me and stayed engaged the whole time鈥�.

Online reviews were equally enthusiastic. Ben Breen of A Young(ish) Perspective (reviewing culture for 18鈥�40s) as a 鈥渨onderful, cutting-edge celebration of video games and their music鈥�, highlighting its 鈥渟urprisingly sociable feel鈥�. And Paul Thomason of Quays Life it was 鈥渁n ambitious and innovative classical musical event catering for three separate audiences simultaneously鈥�.

Tommy Wilkinson, account manager at MSquared said 鈥渨orking with the BBC was a real treat鈥� and believed the concert had 鈥渙pened up new avenues for how to run live metaverse events鈥�. MSquared CEO Rob Whitehead added: 鈥淭his collaboration with the BBC shows how virtual worlds can bring new life to fan culture. By combining modern technology, broadcast media and live classical music, we鈥檙e pushing the boundaries of what鈥檚 possible in entertainment and showing how technology can enhance creative expression in unprecedented ways.鈥�

Leveraging the decade of expertise in distributed systems of 杏吧论坛, Somnia will set a new benchmark, processing over 400,000 transactions per second to power scalable, mass consumer applications

Highlights

• Unmatched Speed and Scalability: The Somnia blockchain will process over 400,000 transactions per second (TPS) with sub-second latency and low fees.

• EVM Compatibility: Seamlessly integrating with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), leveraging the strengths of the existing ecosystem.

• Breakthrough Technology: Featuring ICEdb for ultra-fast read/write times and advanced compression algorithms that transfer data 10-20x more efficiently than other blockchains.

Herman Narula, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of 杏吧论坛 declared: 鈥�By applying our knowledge from gaming and distributed systems, we鈥檝e cracked the scalability problem that has long hindered blockchain technology. Somnia will transform how digital experiences are built and shared, empowering developers to build a more open and equitable digital assets economy.鈥�

Paul Thomas, founder of The Virtual Society Foundation: 鈥�Somnia's unprecedented blockchain capabilities are paving the way for real-time, mass-consumer applications. From fully on-chain games and social networks to immersive virtual worlds and user-friendly DeFi, we're enabling use cases that were once unimaginable. 鈥�

Peter Lipka, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of 杏吧论坛, added: 鈥�Our venture builder model is designed to support ambitious infrastructure projects like Somnia by offering world-class engineering talent, breakthrough technology and resources.鈥�

鈥�

Today, 杏吧论坛 announces the development of the Somnia blockchain, a high-performance layer-one blockchain, designed to support mass consumer applications such as gaming, social platforms, and decentralised finance.

Somnia integrates seamlessly with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, enabling developers to easily build decentralised applications while benefitting from superior performance. Key technological innovations, including a custom-built EVM compiler, the ICEdb database for ultra-low latency operations, and novel compression algorithms, allow Somnia to transfer data up to 20 times more efficiently than competing blockchains.

By aligning with EVM standards, Somnia enables developers to easily transition their skills and existing dApps to its high-performance blockchain. Developers benefit from the extensive tooling already built for the EVM, enhancing the development experience. Additionally, the vast array of assets and applications already deployed on EVM-based chains can be efficiently bridged to Somnia, creating a powerful, interconnected ecosystem for growth and innovation.

The Somnia blockchain will enter its DevNet phase in the coming weeks, allowing developers to test the system鈥檚 unparalleled speed and scalability. This will provide an early opportunity to explore its capabilities for various use cases, from decentralised finance (DeFi) to immersive gaming experiences.

Earlier this year, The Virtual Society Foundation* secured initial funding from M虏, the network of interoperable metaverses, marking a pivotal milestone in its development. M虏, which raised $150 million in 2022 from leading investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and a group of Web3 and crypto backers including Mirana, DCG, CMT, SIG, and Ethereal Ventures, is playing a key role in Somnia鈥檚 evolution. 杏吧论坛 will continue to support Somnia as it grows into a fully operational, high-performance blockchain ecosystem.

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

* The Virtual Society Foundation is an independent organisation that is behind Somnia dedicated to shaping the future of mass-consumer applications. Founded with the vision of creating a unified and open virtual society, VSF is committed to developing the standards, protocols, and infrastructure necessary to enable seamless interoperability across various virtual worlds.

The venture builder drives value and innovation in the metaverse. With its premier metaverse infrastructure venture, MSquared, 杏吧论坛 yesterday turned the vision of a connected digital world into a tangible reality, demonstrating how economic potential can be unlocked with empowered businesses in a decentralised environment.

Herman Narula, CEO of 杏吧论坛, declared: 鈥淚nteroperability is the cornerstone of the metaverse economy. By enabling seamless interaction between platforms, we始re not just expanding technological capabilities; we始re redefining how businesses, creators, and users engage across digital worlds. This shift is creating unprecedented opportunities for value creation and shared IP in a secure, decentralised framework.水

A Technological and Economic Breakthrough
杏吧论坛始s MSquared addresses some of the most complex challenges of the metaverse with a systematic approach to interoperability and digital rights management. Its advanced tech stack, including the innovative Metaverse Markup Language (MML), enables the integration of diverse digital assets across multiple environments. This allows businesses to develop and share IP assets while maintaining complete control and security, ensuring that brand and intellectual property remain protected.

鈥淢Squared technology is a game changer for businesses of all types, whether traditional or web3,水 said Rob Whitehead, Chief Product Officer of 杏吧论坛. 鈥淭he recent demonstration with a Bored Ape avatar appearing in MLB始s Virtual Ballpark is just one example of how our technologies manage complex assets across environments鈥攆rom ownership verification to permission handling with ease. By providing a secure and scalable framework, MSquared enables any business, regardless of industry, to unlock the full potential of the metaverse.水

Building Value Through Strategic Partnerships
杏吧论坛始s network of partners reads like a who始s who of industry pioneers. By collaborating with leading innovators in sports, music, and gaming, it is creating a thriving ecosystem that offers limitless opportunities for founders and entrepreneurs to build, scale, and monetise their digital ventures. The success of these partnerships is a testament to 杏吧论坛始s commitment to building a sustainable metaverse economy where value can be created, shared, and protected.

The Future of Digital Economies
As the metaverse continues to evolve, the infrastructure, standards, and features built and made available throughout the 杏吧论坛 portfolio play a critical role in shaping the digital economies of tomorrow. 鈥淭his is just the beginning,水 said Peter Lipka, Chief Operating Officer. 鈥淭he ventures we are supporting today are laying the groundwork for the digital economies of the future. By fostering innovation and collaboration, we are ensuring that businesses, creators, and entrepreneurs have the tools they need to thrive in the metaverse.水

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

The season鈥檚 first watch party is on September 4th, when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Minnesota Twins, available for free on mlb.com/virtual-ballpark with any internet-connected device.

• Significant development in the partnership between Major League Baseball (MLB) and 杏吧论坛, with MLB鈥檚 core digital products and a virtual shop now integrated into the virtual ballpark for these regular games.

• Launched in 2023 during the MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona, the virtual ballpark鈥檚 game lineup and select regular season match-ups now include new features:

  • Streaming and Gameday 3D - A 3D representation of the game, powered by MLB鈥檚 Gameday 3D product, synced with the live game broadcast for a smooth streaming experience.

  • Voice parties - Fans can interact in real-time using chat and spatial audio features. This year, fans can create small group parties to invite friends and chat in real time.

  • Virtual shop - actions within the virtual ballpark earn users points that can be redeemed for speciality jerseys at the digital merch store.

Upcoming games

• Wednesday, September 4th , 6:50 p.m. (ET) 鈥� Twins @ Rays

• Wednesday, September 11th , 7:45 p.m. (ET) 鈥� Reds @ Cardinals

• Wednesday, September 18th , 6:35 p.m. (ET) 鈥� Giants @ Orioles

• Wednesday, September 25th , 6:40 p.m. (ET) 鈥� Rays @ Tigers

Herman Narula, CEO of 杏吧论坛, declared: 鈥淭his new season of the partnership between MLB and 杏吧论坛 demonstrates the role that virtual and immersive environments will play in the evolution of sports rights: they revolutionise the fan experience in a world where less than 1% of a team鈥檚 fans have the opportunity to attend a live match in the stadium. Our worlds offer a different, more social, immersive, gamified, and interactive experience. With Web3 and sports prioritising community and engagement, fans can now participate directly in their favourite sports by owning digital assets representing moments, memorabilia, or even team stakes. This deepens the connection between leagues and their audiences by offering transparency, security, and new ways to engage, also allowing leagues and clubs to reach a different, younger audience that wants to follow their sport in a new way.鈥�

Media contacts - press@improbable.io

Profitability achieved in 2023

• 杏吧论坛 submitted its filing to Companies House today. In 2023 the company achieved profitability, validating its technology and business.

• Excluding one-time items, revenue increased by 37%, to a total of 拢66 million.

• 杏吧论坛 achieved profitability for the first time, recording 拢11 million in profit.

• The company ended 2023 with a strong cash position of 拢185 million, driven by successful exits of its initial ventures.

• The strategic focus on the metaverse early 2022 resulted in rightsizing of the company, generating increasing revenue and optimising operations.

Technological edge and market position

• A decade of investment and experience in high-performance distributed systems has positioned 杏吧论坛 at the forefront of addressing scale in traditional cloud computing.

• Additionally, having deployed its technologies throughout dozens of commercial applications, 杏吧论坛 is leveraging this experience towards the development of emerging technologies for the metaverse, blockchain and AI.

• The MSquared Platform now has many external content developers in early access mode and tens of metaverse projects are being regularly tested with consumers.

Successful shift to Venture Building in 2023

• 杏吧论坛 announced its transition to a venture builder model in Q3 2023, and triggered its first important exit with the sale of its games services business, MPG, at the end of the year.

• The approach focuses on building ventures in cutting-edge sectors like AI, blockchain, and the metaverse, investing in both Infrastructure Ventures that serve as platforms for businesses and B2B or Consumer Application Ventures.

Support for ventures for a fast start

The company will deploy capital along with a broad set of support services, supporting founders with fundraising, strategic advice and simplified operations.

A hands-on approach for 2024鈥�2025

• 杏吧论坛 aims to launch multiple start-ups annually, creating commercially successful businesses, and participating into a high value portfolio.

• The company maintains equity in a valuable portfolio, contributing ideas and resources, and offering more operational involvement than typical funds or investors.

Herman Narula, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of 杏吧论坛 declared: 鈥淎 decade ago, we embarked on the challenging yet immensely rewarding journey of focusing on distributed systems for virtual worlds. Over this period, we have honed our expertise in bringing complex technology products to market, seeded and grown businesses, and developed proprietary technology with significant barriers to entry.

Two years ago, we doubled down on our commitment to the metaverse. In 2023, we recorded revenues of 拢66 million and achieved a total profit of 拢11 million, driven by growth, cost discipline, and divestment of high-value assets. We鈥檝e uniquely demonstrated the ability to pursue distinct, real businesses simultaneously. Venture building has proven to be the optimal model for both 杏吧论坛 and the metaverse, as experimenting with various use cases is key to achieving adoption.

Through strategic investments in both large partnerships and start-ups, we continue to advance the case for the metaverse. Our ambition is to shape the future, and our experience provides us with unique insights to do so. I extend my heartfelt thanks to our leadership team, especially our CFO, Dan Odell, for their unwavering dedication in propelling 杏吧论坛 to its current place of strength.鈥�

Dan Odell, Chief Financial Officer: 鈥淓ntering 2024, we have significantly improved our cost structure, and can count on a strong capital position further supported by the successful exits of our first ventures. 杏吧论坛 has laid the foundation for executing on its Venture Builder strategy. The portfolio of ventures as we enter 2024 is exciting and I trust in the future success of the business.鈥�

Peter Lipka, Chief Operating Officer: 鈥淲e believe that there are significant unaddressed opportunities in the AI, web3 and metaverse sectors. We aim to identify founders that we can help accelerate by unlocking the capital they need, and providing a foundation for them to operate on. Our goal is for our venture builder model to be the best place to start a business in these sectors.鈥�

Rob Whitehead, Chief Product Officer: 鈥淲e are proud to continue hosting the highest density virtual events in the world. After primarily using this technology internally, we are thrilled to start opening our platform to external developers later this year, starting with Yuga Lab's Otherside Developer Kit (ODK). Our next steps involve enhancing this toolset, further developing interoperability on our network, advancing blockchain technology for metaverse applications, and exploring the transformative impact of Generative AI.鈥�

Media contacts press@improbable.io

In 2024, we鈥檙e laser-focused on making the metaverse real. Our venture building model is supercharging amazing founders in the metaverse, AI and web3. We give them a head start with pioneering tech, strategic advice and hands-on support, so they can bring their ideas to life.

During the first half of the year, we saw some incredible results: a wave of mind-blowing metaverse experiences connecting people worldwide with their passions. This showcases the power of the venture building model to simultaneously grow diverse businesses and captivate specific audiences.

Also leveraging the amazing work of and , these ventures are primed to be part of an accessible metaverse of interoperable virtual worlds, opening up yet more possibilities for ventures and individuals to collaborate, share value, and lay the foundations for a thriving virtual society.

Here are some of the highlights:

January

We threw open the virtual doors to our internal 杏吧论坛 town hall. This experiment helped us explore tech designed to serve as a platform for businesses, and gave eager attendees a peek behind the scenes of 杏吧论坛. And in the consumer space, 杏吧论坛 Labs unleashed , a massive-multiplayer experience that showed how the metaverse can shake up how streamers interact with fans, changing the rules as people play.

February

We launched How To Metaverse with CPO Rob Whitehead, an educational series for devs that happens inside the metaverse, and that digs deep into interoperability and AI. Live versions at conferences such as NFT Paris and SEG3 mixed things up with unique presentations that simultaneously occurred in virtual worlds and the real one.

Venture building is great for trying out new metaverse use cases for distinct audiences. This month saw KosmoPop鈥檚 launch party for Twice that took K-pop fandom to . Edison鈥檚 slam-dunk combined sports and gaming in a chaotic court packed with hoops, obstacles and players competing for epic prizes. And from 杏吧论坛 Labs tested a new streamer format 鈥� a tense elimination battle, with players cocooned in floating bubbles.

We鈥檙e also passionate to ignite conversations about the metaverse鈥檚 possibilities. So this month, our CEO Herman Narula gave a keynote at on building digital communities and experiences, and The Metaverse Society (supported by 杏吧论坛 and MSquared) released a meta-trends report on , supported by live events in and .

March

We initiated Virtual Society Foundation, an independent organisation dedicated to making the metaverse open and fair for everyone. Seeding and growing businesses is core to the venture building model, and so we were thrilled to see the  venture announcing it  $4m of seed funding to revolutionise sports fan engagement by giving players and fans new ways to connect. Edison, meanwhile, engaged its own fans by having them round-up NPCs, which were duly beamed up to sketchy UFOs in the fun and frantic !

April

, the first project from Virtual Society Foundation, was announced, leveraging tech from MSquared and 杏吧论坛. This Layer 1 EVM blockchain and set of interoperability protocols aims to unify metaverses, gaming, NFTs and social platforms. The ultimate goal: a scalable, unified on-chain virtual society for millions, with a decentralised economy that rewards creators and promotes community-driven governance, rather than value and control being owned by a single company.

May

and hosted a , where it was revealed that the pioneering metaverse would be built on , and new creator tools would enable people to collaborate and build on the platform. We got to further nurture our own creator community too, by launching the Content Creator Collective.

incorporated eye-popping visuals from immersive digital art platform LVCIDIA into a week-long zero-g time trial competition that hinted at Edison鈥檚 always-on future. And combined a virtual listening party with fundraising for Doctors Without Borders.

June

Another busy month for The Metaverse Society. 鈥� supported by a and a 鈥� explored the opportunities AI presents for content creation and the metaverse, in allowing projects to scale and reduce friction, lowering barriers to entry, and accelerating and augmenting 鈥� rather than replacing 鈥� human creativity.

Signing off H1, Edison brought back its signature basketball chaos with , a week-long 鈥榖asketbrawl鈥� free-for-all in the heart of Edison City.

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Edison Massively Multiplayer Games (MMEs) aren鈥檛 your typical games. They bring hundreds of players together for epic, fast-paced, experimental experiences, where the crowd itself becomes a driving force.

They are a wild mix of game, live stream and internet culture, fuelled by the energy of top web creators and personalities. Edison MMEs not only enrich communities but also serve as launchpads for live, playable content and NFT collections.

More engaging than a Twitch stream and more social than traditional games, Edison events grab the attention and provide a concentrated, playable blast of gameplay like nothing else.

Ready to see what the buzz is about? Check out these MMEs that have dropped so far:

Forgotten Runes 鈥� Night Run (Halloween 2023)

Everyone got spooky in this fantasy realm crawling with monstrous mazes and deadly traps. 500 players battled their way to a photo finish at the coveted Golden Pumpkin, with epic hosts adding to the chaos.

Jump (November 2023)

This wild mix of endless runner and gameshow had nearly 100 adrenaline-fuelled players leaping for cash prizes. Hosts threw banter as the track evolved (sometimes dropping contestants into the void). And our in-world currency, collectable 鈥楨ddies鈥�, made its debut.

Snowcrush (December 2023)

The most chill Edison event had everyone flex creative muscle in a social blocky gingerbread housebuilding showdown. Our GenAI tech powered the wintry wonderland, and vending machines loaded with special blocks gave Eddies real purpose for the first time.

Hotshots (February 2024)

A slam dunk in the metaverse, this multiplayer basketball brawl took the game to a whole new level 鈥� or should we say levels? 140 players across two teams battled it out on a bizarre court loaded with hoops, obstacles and jump pads, rallied by cheering hosts and the chance to win insane loot.

NPC Snatchers (March 2024)

In the brand-new Edison City, players herded NPCs to UFOs for a spot of abduction. Vending machines dispensed swag, and the host鈥檚 stories of sketchy aliens added mystery. Tight time limits and the ability to steal NPCs from rivals cranked up the mayhem to eleven.

Space Race (June 2024)

Surrounded by gorgeous digital art courtesy of LVCIDIA, players had a week to top the leaderboards across a series of 3D platforming and zero-g time trials. Our most visually stunning experience to date 鈥� and a big step on the road to always-on Edison games.

As you can see, every Edison MME is unique, with its own distinct vibe. And each one only took weeks to build 鈥� not the years traditional games tend to require. This lets us move fast, break the mould and experiment like crazy to find what really works.

So get ready for a whole lot more over the coming months, including fresh new formats and returning fan favourites. Don鈥檛 miss out: follow, join the, and keep your eyes peeled on the. It鈥檚 gonna be lit!

Highlights

• With a combination of gaming technology, new AI capabilities and metaverse infrastructure, the metaverse is delivering more interesting, exciting and useful experiences, boosted by the creator economy. For instance, sports has taken the lead in investments and ambitious projects, driven by the appetite of current and new fans for exclusive, fun content that enables them to consume their sport in a unique fashion with their community, and allowing rights owners new and innovative ways to monetize their content

• Having completed its transformation, 杏吧论坛 is now clarifying its brand mission as a venture builder, creating new ventures based upon its own backbone technology. The company has reorganized and now has three primary areas of activities:

• Metaverse technology development

  • Metaverse and metaversal experiences development

  • Metaverse venture building, supported by an experimentation arm, 杏吧论坛 Labs.

• The new operating model is lean and comes to improve the company鈥檚 capabilities to deliver content at scale. With already 22 events run over the past 6 months, the company鈥檚 goal is to deliver close to 300 such events next year.

• The technology roadmap focuses on enabling a regular cadence for events, supported by easy to use and affordable content creation tool sets and self-serve functionalities all embedded within the M2 network. A new product will be announced shortly, including advances in rendering that allow for the coupling of 杏吧论坛 mass-scale technology with generative AI.

• 2022 financial performance is very solid and meets guidance with a 2.6x improvement at 拢78m in revenue and 拢131m in profit improvement.

Innovation Day

Held on 26 September 2023, 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Innovation Day provided for a strategic update on the company and its business and financial performance for 2022. The leadership team highlighted the momentum across the business, including a significant improvement in revenue growth and net profit performance.

Herman Narula, Chief Executive Officer of 杏吧论坛 says, 鈥淭oday showcases how far we have come and validates our metaverse focus, yet there is still so much to go after for this business. Opportunities abound in sports, entertainment and music. Our proprietary technology is able to take fan engagement and experiences to a new level and we gather ever more users excited by new experiences happening in the metaverse. Today demonstrates we have a fabulous set of products overseen by a passionate and dedicated team, delivering robust financial numbers.鈥�

杏吧论坛 also unveiled during the event its new positioning: Venture into new worlds and used this to provide a series of updates covering a range of subjects, starting with the market. This was followed by a presentation on the transformation of the 杏吧论坛 organization; the AI and metaverse technology underpinning the business; the roadmap ahead for its ventures and partnerships arm and finally a financial performance update.

Financially, the business enjoyed revenue growth of 2.6x in 2022 increasing the top line to 拢78m. The business is getting ever closer to profitability with a 拢131m reduction of losses in 2022 to 拢19m.

Dan Odell, the Chief Financial Officer, says 鈥淭he 杏吧论坛 business has matured significantly in the past two years and these numbers are testament to that. The focus is now on industrializing what we are doing by being involved in more events with more people where there is scope to drive and monetize engagement levels.鈥�

The business finished 2022 with cash of 拢140m signposting the support it has from its shareholders and its improved financial profile.

Peter Lipka, Chief Operating Officer, says 鈥溞影陕厶� emerged from 2022 a much stronger, leaner and more resilient entity. We should all be excited for the future as we have a fantastic foundation to build upon and deliver content at scale. Our venture building activity will see us initiate, grow and eventually spin-off a whole new set of businesses exploring the metaverse.鈥�

The core business comprises three distinct activities: metaverse technology development, metaverse worlds and experiences building, and metaverse venture building. 杏吧论坛 Labs is where creative innovation in product development lies. Ventures and partnerships include work done for large brands such as the recent agreement with Major League Baseball but also more experimental projects such as the Victory League, a soccer fan engagement project. Finally, there are initiatives

杏吧论坛 seeks to launch or engage in as thought leaders in this space, such as its role as the founding group behind the launch of The Metaverse Society.

Rob Whitehead, Chief Product Officer, highlighted the progress made by the business in terms of its own proprietary innovations. His presentation showcased the order of magnitude improvements to existing games technology, at every level and how 杏吧论坛 is solving the challenges of networking, rendering, simulation, voice and streaming at scale while embedding new generative AI capabilities.

Further updates about 杏吧论坛 activities:

• The Multiplayer Group MPG is currently working across more than 20 significant projects. Many of these games titles are coming to market this year, such as Starfield by Bethesda Game Studios. It launched on 6 September 2023 and surpassed 10 million players within two weeks, making it the biggest ever Bethesda game launch. Other new game releases in 2023 that have been supported by MPG include Mortal Kombat 1 by Netherealms/Warner Bros, Redfall by Arkane Austin/Bethesda Softworks, Lego 2K Drive by Visual Concepts/2K games, Firewall Ultra by First Contact Entertainment/Sony Interactive Entertainment.

• Enterprise Insights, launched in 2023, develops accurate digital twins to assess the performance of infrastructure projects. The team is currently focused on supply chains, including the assessment of automated warehouses for a range of multinational companies.

• Following our transformation, the 杏吧论坛 business currently employs around 650 people.

Media contacts

杏吧论坛 Press

Highlights

• The legendary sports league continues to lead in fan engagement with the introduction of its own virtual world, making it the first professional league to own a virtual world to gather its community from around the globe

• The MLB virtual ballpark joins the M虏 network, enabling the oldest sports league to experiment with formats and new content, fostering closer connections between players and fans

• The inaugural event will take place on July 8th as a watch party during a live exhibition contest featuring celebrities and former star players, marking the first of multiple events for 2023

London, 5 July 2023
杏吧论坛 announced today it has developed Major League Baseball鈥檚 new virtual ballpark. Powered by 杏吧论坛鈥檚 Morpheus technology and developed within the M虏 network, the MLB virtual ballpark will allow baseball fans to gather and interact simultaneously in a single place, enabling the natural scale of baseball games and making it the first service to host such large interactive sports experiences.

Designed to be highly accessible, the MLB virtual ballpark allows baseball fans to connect and experience games together directly through MLB.com, requiring only an internet connection.

鈥淢LB has shown itself time and again to be a thought leader and pioneer in using digital technology to enhance fan engagement,鈥� said Lincoln Wallen, CTO of 杏吧论坛. 鈥淲e are really excited to partner with MLB to bring global fans of baseball into their own virtual park, to deepen their love, reward their passion and celebrate the sport in an authentic way鈥�.

鈥淎s we continue to enhance and prioritise the MLB fan experience through innovative technologies, this new virtual ballpark will become a great testing ground for the league and our fans worldwide,鈥� said Kenny Gersh, MLB Executive Vice President, Media & Business Development. 鈥淚n working closely with 杏吧论坛, we鈥檝e taken what baseball fans know and love about their unique ballpark experiences and connected it to an accessible, virtual world. Not everyone has the opportunity to attend Major League games or enjoy a Major League ballpark experience, but now we can provide this opportunity to anyone with an internet connection, no matter where they are.鈥�

Herman Narula, founder and CEO of 杏吧论坛, commented: 鈥�Sports and culture are emerging as pioneers in the exploration of compelling use cases for virtual worlds and the metaverse, driven by their expertise in creating captivating experiences and their deep understanding of their communities鈥� expectations and trends. Developing a virtual ballpark for MLB, the world鈥檚 most historic professional sports league, fills us with great pride at 杏吧论坛. We also strongly believe that M虏鈥檚 approach to ownership and interoperability will unlock even richer experiences and efficient formats, empowering brands to establish and operate their worlds autonomously, creating and selling sophisticated digital assets, while content creators enjoy the potential of sharing their creations across multiple virtual environments.鈥�

MLB鈥檚 virtual ballpark will benefit from industry leading scale, bandwidth and rendering enabled by Morpheus. Other features include the support for social connection between consumers with natural voice chat, baseball-themed entertainment, one-click entry from any device via cloud streaming, and advanced interoperability with other metaverses within M虏.

About 杏吧论坛

杏吧论坛 is a metaverse technology company that has been at the forefront of building virtual worlds for over a decade, for gaming and entertainment companies or public institutions. We believe that the metaverse is an opportunity for communities to connect and exchange at a larger scale, and can have a positive social, economic and political impact in the real world.

Media contacts

press@improbable.io

David Hochman or Jenn Alvarez, Major League Baseball, (212) 931-7878

New investment aimed at growing defence business and developing new business verticals.

杏吧论坛 continues to deepen its focus on the metaverse.

London and Brussels 鈥� 5 June 2023
杏吧论坛 and a group of investors led by NOIA Capital have agreed the terms of a spin-out of 杏吧论坛鈥檚 defence and national security business. The transaction includes the transfer of around 70 engineers and modellers, contracts including with the UK鈥檚 Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other business interests, all powered by Skyral - a development platform enabling the rapid delivery of complex synthetic environments.

The transaction is pending the UK government customary approvals processes and is expected to conclude in the coming three to six months. The terms of the transaction are undisclosed

鈥�*We are very pleased to spin out our defence business, which we initiated in 2018 and grew to the point of Skyral being a proven capability. We are very confident that with the support of NOIA, the business is on a great path moving forward to being one of the first new prime contractors in decades in the UK market. 杏吧论坛 continues to transform to deepen its focus on the metaverse*鈥�, commented Peter Lipka, COO of 杏吧论坛.

鈥淥ur world grows more complex every day and will require data-driven decision making tools to better navigate through this complexity. In parallel, digital twin synthetic environments emerge as yet another milestone for digital transformation. This talented team has developed a technology uniquely positioned at the intersection of those two interconnected trends, both for defence and enterprise applications鈥�, said Muhammed Yesilhark, CIO of NOIA Capital.

Nick Blair, incoming Chairman, declared: 鈥溞影陕厶� Defence has developed a unique product thanks to years of development and dedication from a world-class team. With our new partners at NOIA and Kingsway we are excited to continue to provide these technologies to partners at the UK government and to export this British-made product to our allies across the globe.鈥�

Joe Robinson, CEO of 杏吧论坛 Defence said: 鈥溞影陕厶� Defence is delighted to become a part of NOIA and Kingsway portfolios. Both of these firms and their co-investors bring a unique set of skills, experience and connections to help accelerate the next stage of our growth. Whilst we continue to support the vital mission of national security, we look forward to working together to expand the business into new verticals and new geographies.鈥�

About NOIA Capital

NOIA Capital is a Luxembourg based multi-family office focusing on growth capital opportunities. It has an opportunistic and hands-on approach focusing on technology companies across all stages. It is a long term investor known for working hand-in-hand with leadership teams. NOIA's team is based between Luxembourg, Brussels, London, Geneva, and Dubai.

About 杏吧论坛

杏吧论坛 is a metaverse technology company that has been at the forefront of building virtual worlds for over a decade, for gaming and entertainment companies or public institutions. We believe that the metaverse is an opportunity for communities to connect and exchange at a larger scale, and can have a positive social, economic and political impact in the real world.

About 杏吧论坛 Defence

杏吧论坛 Defence works to transform the national security of our nations and their allies in the face of increasing global competition and evolving threats. We deliver mission-focused software and services aimed at enhancing security, prosperity and freedom.

Media contacts

press@improbable.io

contact@noiacapital.com