Frank Ma - CEO of Ultiverse

Hello Community,

We’ve got some brilliant projects within our portfolio and want to tell you more about the founders and teams behind them. On a regular basis, you will have the opportunity to learn more about specific projects through our interviews. Feel free to post any questions you may have further down in the comments section.

In today’s interview, we have Frank Ma, CEO of Ultiverse. Let’s go!

Hi Frank, how are you? Please tell us a bit about you and your experience in the gaming industry.

Hi everyone, I’m doing well. I have an engineering background, I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2013 and have been working in big tech companies in the Bay Area from 2013 to 2015. After that, I’ve founded two startup companies. I don’t have any game development experience before Ultiverse, but I play all kinds of games. As a heavy gamer, I have a deep understanding and appreciation of different gaming genres, mechanics, and platforms, which is valuable when I start Ultiverse.

When did you decide to enter the crypto space?

I entered the crypto space in 2017. Back then I was coding for a layer one project using DDPOS, which was very popular at that time.

You founded Ultiverse in 2021 with the idea of connecting Web3 with VR. Can you expand this concept?

Web3 technologies, such as blockchain, decentralized finance, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), could enable new possibilities for creating immersive virtual worlds that allow for ownership, personalization, and monetization of in-game assets and experiences.

For example, blockchain technology could be used to create a decentralized virtual economy where players could buy, sell, and trade virtual assets using cryptocurrency. NFTs could be used to represent unique and rare in-game items, such as weapons, armor, or even virtual real estate, that players can own and transfer outside of the game environment.

In addition, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols could allow for the creation of new revenue streams for players and game developers. For example, players could earn interest on their virtual assets or participate in yield farming strategies to generate additional income.

What are the critical factors for the success of a MetaFi project? What are you doing differently at Ultiverse?

The success of MetaFi projects will depend on a variety of factors, including the technical infrastructure, user experience, security measures, and community engagement. Developers and investors who can successfully navigate these challenges could help to usher in a new era of decentralized finance and virtual world innovation. In Ultiverse we have several critical factors that we believe could contribute to the success:

a) Integration with popular metaverse platforms: For a MetaFi project to be successful, it must be integrated with popular virtual world platforms that have a large user base.

b) Interoperability with other DeFi protocols: MetaFi projects must be interoperable with other DeFi protocols to ensure that users can easily move assets between different platforms and take advantage of different yield-generating strategies.

c)User-friendly interfaces: MetaFi projects must be easy to use, even for people who may not be familiar with blockchain technology or DeFi concepts.

d) Community engagement: The success of MetaFi projects will depend heavily on the engagement and participation of the community.

What is your view about the Metaverse & Gaming verticals in the upcoming years? What’s the biggest challenge you see for these related industries?

In the upcoming years, we can expect to see more investment and development in the gaming and metaverse verticals as companies and entrepreneurs seek to capitalize on the growth and potential of these industries. We may see more collaboration between gaming companies and metaverse developers, as well as new partnerships and investment opportunities. There are several significant challenges, like: Technical Complexity, Fragmentation as there are many different metaverse projects which often operate independently, Scalability, Community Management, and of course, Regulatory Uncertainty.

Your project has attracted many reputable investors, including Sequoia Capital China, Three Arrows Capital, Defiance Capital, Binance Labs and Morningstar Ventures. How are you using your capital?

Depending on our goals and objectives, there are many uses of capital in our industries like: R&D, Talent Acquisition, Marketing and promotion, partnerships and collaborations, etc. Each investor brings unique advantages beyond just the financial investment, such as connections, expertise, and resources. For example, Morningstar Ventures has connections with key influencers, marketing firms, and reputable VCs, which can be really valuable for us looking to grow our audience and reach new users.

What has been your most significant achievement and most extensive challenge at Ultiverse so far?

We have started Ultiverse for almost 12 months and we’ve released several products and NFT drops. But I would say building an organic community is still our top goal as it’s critical aspect of success in the gaming and metaverse industries, it helps to create a sense of belonging and engagement among users.

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Thanks a lot for your time Frank. Good luck with your projects!

You can check the social media profiles of the project: Website | Twitter | Discord | YouTube | Twitch | Medium

The Morningstar Ventures Team