"Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Lead $150M Raise for Metaverse Startup Improbable
The multiplayer services provider is accelerating its push into the metaverse."..
"Metaverse technology firm Improbable has raised $150 million led by Andreessen Horowitz and SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 to build a "network of interoperable Web 3 metaverses," dubbed M² "
"Digital Currency Group – CoinDesk's parent company – Mirana Ventures, SIG, Ethereal Ventures and CMT Digital, the crypto division of trading firm CMT Group, also participated in the round.".. 🤔
"Improbable describes itself as a provider of technology and services to support multiplayer virtual worlds to more than 60 global game publishers. Its large scale simulation platform also supports the U.K.'s defense mission.."..👀👀
Founded in 2012 by Herman Narula , Peter Lipka , and Rob Whitehead
"“M²’s technology enables developers to build and scale composable metaverses, solving a core need for our founders within the Alliance accelerator”, said Imran Khan, contributor at AllianceDAO ...".. coindesk.com/business/2022/…
"Among the investors supporting M² are also Saranac partners, a private office for entrepreneurs and family capital, notably including Round13 DAF, Zinal Growth, the tech investment vehicle of Guillaume Pousaz, David E. Rutter." 🤔
Just putting this here for later🤫
R3 at the PGA
"Geneva-born entrepreneur Guillaume Pousaz and founder of the start-up Checkout.com has a net worth of $23 billion (CHF22 billion). His company, which is headquartered in London, has the highest market capitalization in the global fintech sector."
"Pousaz founded Checkout.com, a start-up specialised in payment transactions, in London in 2012. Since then, the company’s growth has been phenomenal. It provides services to the likes of Netflix , Pizza Hut, Adidas and Sony..".. 🍿🍿🍿
"In January 2022, it raised $1 billion in capital from big-name investors such as Franklin Resources and Tiger Global Management, bringing the start-up’s valuation to around $40 billion."..
"In addition to retailers, the company’s client base includes leading fintechs such as Sweden’s Klarna and Britain’s Revolut [I just knew it🤡😂🤦]
as well as the cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase (U.S.) and Crypto.com (Singapore).."..
"The start-up’s origins can be traced back to an earlier company, Opus Payments, founded by Pousaz in Singapore in 2009 to process payments for businesses in Hong Kong. ."..
"The firm became profitable in 2011 following an agreement with the Chinese website Dealextreme .. In 2012, Opus Payments was rebranded as Checkout.com and registered in the United Kingdom..".. archive.is/lvUYl
"Another breakthrough came about in 2013, when the company gained Visa and Mastercard membership."..
"By now, aiming for a stock market listing, the company had distanced itself from the pornography and gambling customers present at the beginning of its history."
Wait , what?
"in its early days, Checkout worked with clients that provide adults-only services including pornography and gambling, which at one point accounted for a significant amount of business, according to people familiar with the matter." - Bloomberg bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
"The clients included companies like MindGeek SARL, the owner of websites like Pornhub.com, OnlyFans Ltd. and MondoCamGirls, a website that allows users to pay for live feeds of sexual content, the people said."
The Times : "When Prem Sargam was six years old, her father left his job with IBM and disappeared from their home in Devon to join an ashram in Pune, India"🤔
Osho & IBM
Shaping Ideas Of My Time
by Yoga C J Bowers
"in the 80’s I was privileged to contribute to the foundational work on “Sustainable Development” at IBM that has now blossomed into “Smarter Planet”. 🤔... blurb.co.uk/b/1460183-osho…
"In January 2010, the IBM Chairman spoke at Chatham House, London on how forward-thinking leaders around the world are capturing the potential of smarter systems to achieve economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development and societal progress."🤔
NOVEMBER 17: NYT President Waheed Alli (C) and guests attend as the National Youth Theatre celebrates its Diamond Anniversary hosted by HRH The Earl of Wessex at Buckingham Palace on November 17, 2016 in London
Sir Bob Geldof (L) speaks with Lord Waheed Alli at the DNA (Decide Now Act) Summit Innovation 101 Power Breakfast in the Cholmondeley Room & Terrace at the House of Lords on July 26, 2012.
Neri Oxman, the former MIT professor and winner of the 2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, has launched a new operation called OXMAN and based in New York City. archinect.com/news/article/1…
Initiatives will be pursued in three main project areas and their corresponding platforms.