Tim Sweeney – Founder of Epic Games: As the mastermind behind the Unreal Engine, which powers many popular games and virtual experiences, Sweeney consistently shares forward-thinking perspectives on where the metaverse is heading and its broader implications.
Philip Rosedale – Founder of Second Life and High Fidelity: With Second Life, Rosedale pioneered one of the earliest forms of a metaverse. His continued work with High Fidelity focuses on creating shared virtual spaces, paving the way for the metaverse’s next iteration.
Neal Stephenson – Science Fiction Author: While not a developer, Stephenson’s seminal book “Snow Crash” introduced the concept of the metaverse to many. He continues to discuss its potential implications in both fictional and non-fictional contexts.
Matthew Ball – Venture Capitalist & Writer: A prolific essayist, Ball has written extensively on the metaverse, its infrastructure, and its potential economic and cultural impact. He provides comprehensive analyses on where this tech is headed.
Jesse Walden – Founder of Variant Fund: Walden believes in a user-owned internet, and his work in crypto and blockchain technology positions him as a crucial figure in building the decentralized backbone of the future metaverse.
John Hanke – CEO of Niantic: With Pokémon Go, Hanke’s Niantic made Augmented Reality (AR) mainstream. His vision for the ‘real-world metaverse’, blending AR with physical locations, provides a unique perspective on metaverse infrastructure.
Fred Ehrsam – Co-founder of Coinbase & Paradigm: Ehrsam’s insights into blockchain and crypto underscore their role in building metaverse economies. His venture firm, Paradigm, is deeply invested in the decentralized web and its overlap with metaverse concepts.
Ben Nolan – Founder of Cryptovoxels: Cryptovoxels, a virtual world on the Ethereum blockchain, is one of the earliest metaverse projects that emphasized user ownership. Nolan’s thoughts on combining VR with blockchain are pioneering in this space.
Jeremy Bailenson – Founding Director of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab: Bailenson’s research into virtual human interaction is vital for understanding user behavior in virtual spaces, which will be foundational for building user-centric metaverse infrastructures.
Jin Ha Lee – Director of Informatics at the University of Washington: Lee focuses on organizing and accessing information in VR and AR environments, a critical aspect of creating seamless and functional metaverse experiences.
