HBAR Foundation launches a $250M metaverse fund to enhance consumer brand adoption

The HBAR Foundation, a not-for-profit independent organization of distributed ledger firm Hedera Hashgraph, has announced the establishment of a $250 million dollar metaverse fund to drive consumer brand adoption of tokenized Web3 applications.

The foundation’s team has identified applications within both the Web3 and Hedera ecosystems that build direct from business-to-consumer and act as a reciprocal middle-man between all parties for the metaverse fund to focus their efforts across four sectors: blockchain gaming, the brands and collectibles market, sporting experiences and institutional metaverse opportunities.

The fund's inaugural recipient, Sayl, operates an owner relationship management (ORM) platform focused on strengthening the commercial connection between brands and consumers with the integration of Web3 mechanics.

In a video conversation with Alex Russman, the director of the metaverse fund at the HBAR Foundation spoke to Cointelegraph about an array of subjects including the reasons for partnering with Sayl, the importance of technological architecture in the space as well as upcoming yet-to-be-announced partnerships with gaming and sports platforms, and fashion brands.”

Sayl’s current global customer relationship management (CRM) operation serves over 300 corporations, including industry giants such as Proctor and Gamble, Loreal and Brussels Airport, among others.

According to Russman, “they see the potential of Web3, so are integrating [nonfungible tokens, or] NFTs and tokens into that offering, being that hand-hold service that allows a large enterprise to understand how tokens relate and fit into their business.”

This extends further than a simple marketplace hub and wallet integration to “deeper management tools” within the Sayl Store Manager App. He said this includes designing, issuing and distributing NFTs to consumers, all of which support lowering the educational barrier to entry for customers interacting with their desired brands.

Russman continued on to note that “it's really that tooling combined with Hedera’s technology — speed, low-fees, sustainability — that makes Hedera and partners like Sayl the obvious choice for the enterprise metaverse to flourish.”

Related: HBAR Foundation launches $100M climate-focused impact fund, declaring DOVU as inaugural grantee

(1) We’re excited to officially announce the launch of the #Metaverse Fund, a major acceleration force for #gaming, virtual worlds, fashion, #NFTs, consumer brands, social platforms, the creator economy, & enterprise to enter the #Hedera ecosystem ⚡ https://t.co/0tFydGDMlVpic.twitter.com/HVprXZ5FyL

— The HBAR Foundation (@HBAR_foundation) April 7, 2022

Speaking on Sayl's illustrious lists of clients, Russman stressed the immense consideration that must occur with this large an enterprise entering the Web3 space, noting that “it’s not the same as doing a single NFT drop," but that:

These are all long-term relationships, so these are the kind of meaningful pieces that take longer to ship, but they’re moving the needle for the distributed ledger technology (DLT) industry as a whole, and Hedera is very well positioned as a part of that.”