The Web3 + AI Newsletter 8
This week's events can serve as a clear evidence of the Web3 and AI convergence confidently stepping into the mainstream.
Hello, everyone, and warm welcome to all newly joined subscribers!
This is the Web3 + AI newsletter, where we explore the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. It has been a pivotal week, once again, with colossal deals announced and major milestones achieved. After it, I can safely say that Web3 and AI combined are confidently stepping into the mainstream.
Thank you for being here! Let’s dive in.
What’s New in the Web3 + AI Startup World?
Futureverse Allies with Warner Bros. to Bring “Ready Player One” to the Metaverse
Decentralized AI gaming platform Futureverse has announced the launch of Readyverse Studios with the mission of bringing leading intellectual property and brands to the metaverse.
Readyverse Studios, a first-of-its-kind studio co-founded by Futureverse Co-Founders Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald, as well as Ernest Cline, the best-selling novelist and renowned creator of the groundbreaking franchise Ready Player One and Dan Farah, Ready Player One film producer.
The new studio aims to bridge the gap between Hollywood and new technologies, and thus grant valuable entertainment franchises a new life and exposure to younger generations. Hollywood, on the other hand, seems glad to accept the offer since Warner Bros. Entertainment has already struck a licensing deal, and other big players are expected to follow suit.
The Readyverse will also feature licensed digital props and other intellectual property from director Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One film through a deal with distributor Warner Bros. Negotiations continue with other brands and Hollywood content studios for similar licensing deals, co-founders said.
Fox Partners with Polygon to Fight Deepfakes, Disinformation
Media conglomerate Fox Corporation has released Verify - an open-source content and image verification protocol, built on Polygon Labs blockchain. It will be used to identify AI-generated and deepfake media stories through on-chain data provenance and authentication.
In practice, viewers can confirm the authenticity of any digital content they come across throughout FOX media outlets by simply pasting a URL or uploading an image to Verify. Moreover, the tool is designed to be useful for other media companies as well, which is ultimately underscored by its open-source nature. Digital media businesses will be able to register content to Verify and, in addition, grant usage rights to AI platforms, so legal battles like The NYT vs. OpenAI can be avoided.
This partnership represents a formal recognition of blockchain’s considerable potential to certify data origination, and hopefully, will trigger other non-financial uses of the technology.
CharacterX Secures $2.8M to Boost AI & Blockchain Integration
The convergence of Web3 and AI is conquering the social networking world with CharacterX raising $2.8M in a seed round co-led by Lightspeed, INCE Capital, and Spark Digital Capital.
CharacterX aims at transforming the social networking experience so that AI companions become an integral part of it, and human-AI collaborations and synergy redefine how we connect and interact. Moreover, in Q1 of 2024, the team plans to extend users’ digital lives by integrating multisensory technology like voice, 3D, and Augmented Reality (AR). Blockchain technology will ensure the network’s privacy, fairness, and economic sustainability.
Octavia Attracts Private Round Investors
The Web3 AI chatbot company Octavia started 2024 strong with a series of major partnership and investment announcements. First, a private round raise by the Web3 and gaming experiences ecosystem Equinox was unveiled:
The partnership also entails Equinox integrating Octavia’s technology:
Then, Octavia welcomed venture capital firm Castrum Istanbul as a strategic seed and private round investor.
Similarly, Poolz Ventures joined Octavia's capitalization table with the engagement to provide technical and strategic support, and to fuel Octavia's growth and expansion to new markets. The financial dimensions of either one of these deals were not disclosed.
Octavia is a cutting-edge Web3 assistant that is capable, through the aggregation of multiple AI language models and data sources, of executing various tasks across trading, investing, and researching.
Streamr Unites with Arkreen to Decentralize and Monetize Green Energy Data
Decentralized data broadcaster Streamr Network has joined forces with arkreen, a Web3 digital infrastructure for distributed renewable energy resources, to harness and monetize green energy data.
The partnership involves Arkreen integrating the Streamr Software Development Kit (SDK) into its infrastructure, as well as pioneering the decentralized collection of information so that renewable energy data is collected, shared, and utilized transparently and securely. Moreover,
Once the infrastructure is in place, I am sure, it won’t be long until AI models are employed to enhance global climate action.
Noteworthy Podcasts, Articles, Events
Spot BTC ETFs Approved!
All 11 applications for spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) were approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after more than a decade of attempts. The assets begin trading today - January 11th, 2024, providing institutional and retail funds with exposure to BTC’s price movements.
About a dozen companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Grayscale Investments, sought to create bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. In recent days they’ve announced – and, in some cases, slashed – the fees they plan to charge investors, suggesting a fierce battle to win investors’ money is ahead. These are spot ETFs, meaning they hold bitcoin itself, versus the already-approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which hold derivatives contracts tied to BTC.
Remarkably, that major milestone did not go without hiccups. On Tuesday, the SEC posted on X that all spot BTC ETFs were approved, but it quickly became clear the message was fake when SEC Chair Gary Gensler admitted that the institution's X account had been compromised. As usual, the event unleashed a wave of droll comments by the crypto community:
Gensler's tweet was even immortalized as an Ordinals NFT 😄
However, people legitimately demanded that the SEC start investigating itself for market manipulation, since Gensler's tweet slashed more than $2K from BTC's price. Anyway, this has been simply the “cherry on top” for Gensler's impact on the crypto space.
Thank you for reading! I hope you found this article insightful.
If you’d like to keep up with the latest developments at the burgeoning intersection of blockchain and AI, I invite you to subscribe.
And if you find value in my writing, consider supporting the newsletter. I’d greatly appreciate it.
The Web3 + AI Book Club is live on Fable. Follow the link below and come join our literary community.
I'm looking forward to connecting with fellow Crypto x AI enthusiasts, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts here or reach out on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Firefly.social.
Disclaimer: The content of this newsletter is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice or as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any of the companies or assets mentioned.
Please don’t take my views at face value. Instead, do your own research (DYOR), think critically, and share your perspective so we can challenge ideas, learn from one another, and arrive at better conclusions through thoughtful discussion.