Outlier Ventures and Futureverse launch startup accelerator

Prolific crypto venture capital firm Outlier Ventures and Futureverse, an AI metaverse company, have launched an accelerator program to aid startups building for applications designed for an open metaverse.

The Futureverse Base Camp, a 12-week accelerator program, will support participating startups building on the Root Network with $100,000 in development capital, the companies said in a statement. The Root Network is Futureverse’s “public decentralized blockchain network optimized for metaverse apps and experiences.”

On top of mentorship from Outlier and Futureverse, in what will be the first of multiple editions of the program, between six to 10 startups will likely be selected to receive funding between $600,000 to $1 million in total, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Using AI, Futureverse said it possesses a “suite of proprietary” tools designed to help construct and operate an open metaverse bolstered by blockchain technology. The company recently raised $54 million in Series A funding. The well known crypto payment solutions provider Ripple Labs participated in the round led by 10T Holdings.

High-profile partners

"Futureverse has created what we believe to be foundational building blocks and brand partnerships for the open metaverse at scale,” said Outlier Founder and CEO Jamie Burke. “From the early stages of working with them, we have invested in multiple layers of their stack and IP, as they simultaneously partnered with  a growing number of portfolio companies coming out of our accelerator.”

Outlier has invested in 250 startups, according to the statement.

Futureverse, which was founded by Aaron McDonald, Shara Senderoff, Marco Brondani and Daniel Gillespie, has partnerships with high-profile organizations and entrepreneurs like FIFA, Mastercard, Death Row Records, Snoop Dogg and Keanu Reeves.

Outlier and Futureverse's accelerator program is slated to kick off in January 2024.