I have chatted with the CEO of Sketchfab, Alban Denoyel, before. He’s a key figure in inventing a future where you and I and anyone with a LIDAR-equipped phone or tablet can scan 3D objects and add them to a marketplace where people who are building and populating the metaverse can access them.
Here’s the chat:
Now he’s just sold his company to Epic Games, makers of the Unreal Engine that so many games use to create realistic 3D environments.
From my post on Forbes:
It’s a major augmented reality, virtual reality, and 3D content move in a time when gaming and productivity are increasingly moving towards three-dimensional spaces. That includes both games played on tw0-dimensional screens as well as games and experiences enabled in virtual and augmented reality glasses or headsets. All of these have a ravenous hunger for 3D objects to place in environments and gameplay, and Sketchfab is arguably the world’s largest repository and marketplace for AR and VR content.
“The Sketchfab team has done an incredible job opening up the world of 3D content on the web and enabling anyone to edit and publish content online,” Marc Petit, VP and General Manager of Unreal Engine, said in a statement. “As the adoption of real-time 3D technology continues to grow, demand for web-based solutions will only increase. We are excited to work together with the Sketchfab team to empower even more creators.”
This is a big deal. Congratulations to Alban, and it’s fascinating to see the moves and countermoves that will determine who is building and who will control the metaverse continue to play out.
By the way, here’s my conversation with Alban on the TechFirst podcast. Subscribe on your podcasting platform of choice!
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