As the Web3 space expands, the space not only requires blockchains with advanced technologies but also needs the support of mentors and investors who believe in new projects and give founders opportunities to bring innovations and new ideas. One such personality is Yat Siu, the founder of Animoca Brands, a firm that uses blockchain and artificial intelligence to build mobile products. He has been associated with the core team of The Sandbox, and his firm is the official distributor of CryptoKitties in China. For his invaluable contribution to the industry, Yat Siu was honored with the titles ‘Global Leader of Tomorrow’ and ‘Young Global Leader.’
Early Life
Yat Siu was born and brought up in Vienna, Austria. His mother was part of an orchestra group, and his father was an instrumentalist. Thus his parents also “pushed” him into the field of music. Eventually, Yat Siu studied at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. He is trained in cello, flute, and piano.
Before Entering The Crypto World
Yat Siu started his professional career at a company called Atari in Germany. Then after a couple of years, he became a director and headed the operations of a firm named Lexicor on the East Coast. After gaining a few years of experience, he moved to Hong Kong and launched Cybercity in 1996, Asia’s first free webpage and Internet provider. Its name was later changed to Freenation. Then Yat Siu founded Outblaze but later sold it to the Lotus Software Division of IBM in 2009.
Creating Animoca Brands
In 2011, Yat Siu founded Animoca Brands. The company deals with several NFT projects, but its most promising one is The Sandbox. Since its establishment, Animoca Brands has ramped up its digital assets to a value of $15.9 billion in 2021.
The same year, Animoca Brands secured funding of about $93 million from SoftBank at a valuation of $300 million. The company also collaborated with big names in the NFT space, like OpenSea, Dapper Labs, and AlienWorlds. It also worked with Binance to provide funding for new blockchain games. The company also launched several products in 2021, including Phantom Galaxies, GAMEE utility token, Arc8 platform, etc.
Yat Siu’s Animoca Brands skyrocketed its success the following year when it raised funding of $360 million from Liberty City Ventures at a valuation of $5.4 billion.
Because of his contributions to the community via his brand, Yat Siu has been part of the Task Force, established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, that works toward promoting developments in the Web3 space.
Many people are also unaware that Yat Siu has also been appointed as a BAFTA member and is also on the board of directors for the Asian Youth Orchestra.
Yat Siu’s Advice
Yat Siu has been a part of the industry long enough to understand the intricacies of space and has enough knowledge to predict its growth. He says that data is one of the most critical assets in the digital world, but people fail to understand its value. Thus, he asks everyone to prioritize digital assets like they value physical assets.
Yat Siu also suggests that everyone should research the projects they want to get invested in. It will help people build opinions without getting influenced by the biased views of others.
He strongly urges parents of Millennials to make them aware of Metaverse and Web3 as they are the next generation of entrepreneurs. Thus, they hold the key to the success of the ecosystem.
Conclusion
What we appreciate the most about Yat Siu’s vision is that it is practical. He is strategic and always prefers to focus on the broader aspect. We are looking forward to Animoca Brands’ next initiative as crypto enthusiasts believe they are out to bring the next revolution in the Web3 space.
