The Walt Disney Company hasn’t made any crypto play of its own yet. But now it has several crypto companies in its accelerator program.
Disney on Wednesday announced the 2022 participants of its accelerator program, and prominent among them is Web3 company Polygon.
“Raise your hand if you remember your first Disney experience like yesterday,” the Polygon account tweeted with a link to the official announcement. “We are pleased to announce that Disney has been selected to be part of the Accelerator Program.”
The project noted in an earlier tweet that it was also “the only blockchain chosen” for the program, although it was unclear how many others applied or were under consideration.
Formerly known as Matic Network and rebranded in 2021, Polygon is a scaling and interoperability framework for building Ethereum-compatible blockchains that seeks to address some of Ethereum’s critical limitations, such as limited throughput and poor user experience. Is.
This year’s class includes Web3 social media app Flickplay, artificial intelligence platform Inworld, Web3 storytelling platform Lockerverse, augmented reality company Raid 6 and Obsess, an “experimental” e-commerce platform. This program is starting this week.
Disney says participants will be provided with investment capital, access to co-working spaces at the entertainment giant’s creative campus in Los Angeles, and mentorship and guidance from Disney executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from the entertainment and technology sectors.
The accelerator is open to venture-backed, growth-stage startups with a vision to impact the future of technology and entertainment. Disney says this year’s Accelerator class will focus on building the future of immersive experiences through technologies such as augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
NFTs are blockchain-based tokens that show ownership of a digital or physical asset.
“For nearly a century, Disney has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to create the entertainment experiences of the future,” Bonnie Rosen, general manager of the Disney Accelerator Program, said in a statement. “With our latest line of companies, we look forward to furthering our commitment to innovation and bringing magical experiences to Disney viewers and guests for the next 100 years.”
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