Get ready for Neal Stephenson’s open metaverse as Lamina1 unveils Avalanche Web3 plans

19.10.2023 - 15:43 / venturebeat.com

Neal Stephenson has unveiled the plans of his Lamina1 blockchain company for an open metaverse in partnership with the Avalanche chain.

Now as breathless as that sounds, it doesn’t mean Stephenson’s virtual world of Snow Crash — the 1992 novel in which he coined the term “metaverse” — is coming soon. But this launch of Lamina1’s Layer 1 blockchain on Avalanche is a necessary part of the infrastructure.

Over the past year or so, Lamina1 has been building a solution for empowering metaverse content creation and development. And today it has announced the launch of a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain on Avalanche.

You might think that this is a bit late, as the buzz around the word “metaverse” has come and gone. But Stephenson likes that expectations have been lowered and the discussion can focus on real technology.

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The platform aims to create an interoperable ecosystem of open metaverse tools and experiences using Avalanche’s powerful consensus and core technology. Stephenson and Avalanche executive John Nahas said in an interview with GamesBeat that they see eye-to-eye on the need for an open metaverse, the universe of virtual worlds inspired by sci-fi novels like Snow Crash. And rather than build everything itself, Stephenson said Lamina1 is relying on Avalanche’s technology, which is focused on enabling blockchain networks for other companies in an open environment.

Founded by Stephenson, crypto pioneer Peter Vessenes, and immersive entertainment executive Rebecca Barkin, Lamina1 seeks to foster an open, decentralized, and creator-friendly metaverse.

“We founded Lamina1 because we would like to see the Metaverse develop in a way that’s open, decentralized, and welcoming for creators,” said Stephenson. “In order to have a Metaverse that millions of people visit and use, we’ll need experiences there that people enjoy having. That starts with building creator support into the system from the ground up. We’ve found a partner that’s aligned with that vision and that has the engineering heft to realize it.”

The team believes that in order to attract millions of users, the metaverse must provide enjoyable experiences and support creators from the ground up. Their partnership with Avalanche aligns with this vision and leverages Avalanche’s engineering capabilities.

Lamina1 has already made significant progress, with nearly 50,000 participants engaging in its Testnet and Betanet phases. These early stages have laid the foundation for key features such as decentralized asset storage solutions, user-friendly