key takeaways
- The Walt Disney Company has announced that it will have Polygon in its accelerator program this year.
- will receive leadership and mentorship from Disney; It will also participate in an on-site demo day.
- Flickplay and Lockerverse, two other NFT-focused companies, will also participate in the event.
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According to a press release, The Walt Disney Company has chosen Polygon to participate in its accelerator program.
Polygon will participate in the demo day
Blockchain firm Polygon is one of six companies that will participate in Disney’s accelerator program this year.
The program will feature Disney providing guidance from its leadership team and offering a dedicated mentor. Each participant will also participate in a demo day at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
Ryan Watt, CEO of Polygon Studios, noted that Polygon was “the only blockchain selected” to participate in the event. He said it “tells about the work being done”. [at Polygon]And that’s where we’re headed as a company.”
Apart from being the only selected blockchain, Polygon is a major blockchain project in its own right. The company’s MATIC token is currently the 18th largest cryptocurrency in the market, with a market cap of $4.61 billion.
Disney did not explain why it was interested in Polygon, but drew attention to its Web3 features—implicitly, its ability to integrate cryptocurrency transactions with web applications.
Two other participants focus on NFTs
Two other blockchain-related companies were selected. Flickplay, the social media platform for video NFTs and online e-commerce platform Lockerverse, which has filed trademarks related to NFTs, will also participate in the accelerator.
While there is no indication that these efforts will develop into a lasting relationship, Disney clearly has an interest in NFTs. The company has launched several lines of NFTs in partnership with digital collective marketplace Weave since 2021.
Additionally, former Disney CEO Bob Iger has suggested that NFTs have “extraordinary” potential for Disney due to the large number of intellectual properties.
While the aforementioned accelerator participants are associated with blockchain and NFTs, the remaining three companies are more broadly involved in “metaverse” technologies.
Those three companies—Raid 6, Obsess, and Inworld—focus on augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this article owns BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies.