News just broke that Animoca Brands has partnered with Polygon Labs and Amazon Web Services to launch a new initiative for the development of Web3 products and solutions.
The ’MoonRealm Express Accelerator’ will help boost global builders in nascent domains including GameFi, SocialFi, and decentralized identity. The program, which is part of Animoca Brands’ Mocaverse project, aims to help creators and developers bring their ideas from concepts to real-world applications.
Yat Sui, the co-founder of Animoca Brands and its executive chair, said that Mocaverse is a project that is working to build “the largest Web3 ecosystem in culture and entertainment.” He added that the company was thrilled to work with Polygon Labs and AWS to help builders “co-create“ on its “major Web3 identity and loyalty platform.”
To get started, Moonrealm will be putting resources into launching Moca ID and Real Points on Polygon, and creating and expanding the Mocaverse ecosystem. Early next year, a hackathon to bring developers together to create games and programs will take place.
According to Animoca Brands’ press release, AWS has agreed to invest $1.1 million into the project to support up to 500 startups in the initial phase of the project. They will also provide Web3 masterclasses, cloud resources, go-to-market support, and access to venture capital.
As for Polygon Labs, the company that pushes the growth and development of the L2 blockchain Polygon, will offer cash prizes for the hackathons and Web3 workshops for selected startups.
Yaniv Donenfel, the global head of AWS’ Web3 GTM, said that the company believes Web3 could “revolutionize various sectors” on a global scale.
Amazon Appears to Be Turning Bullish on Web3
Animoca Brands’ partnership with Polygon Labs and Amazon is big news, especially considering the latter is the biggest online retailer in the world. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard from the retail giant this year in Web3. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several articles about Amazon in working with the next iteration of the internet this year. Here are the top stories.
First, about a month ago, Immutable announced it had partnered with Amazon Web Services to accelerate the adoption of Web3 gaming. The move will let companies building on Immutable, a major player in Web3 gaming, access AWS Activate and the AWS Cloud Platform.
Next, eight months ago, news broke that Amazon was considering opening its own NFT marketplace. The marketplace, which has not yet been launched, would let shoppers buy digital products and NFTs that are connected to real-life products.
Finally, ten months ago, Blockworks reported that Amazon is interested in Web3, particularly NFT initiatives and blockchain-based games. The current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, told CNBC that he believes “NFTs will continue to grow significantly.”
While Amazon is clearly becoming more bullish on NFTs and Web3 technologies, the company has yet to make a major move in the space. We can’t say for certain, but if it does make that move, it could be a major catalyst for the next bull market…. Fingers crossed.