Sean Pinnock in 2016 envisioned building a metaverse, but he felt the world wasn’t yet ready.
Pinnock instead started Orlando-based virtual-reality studio CyberDream LLC in 2017. CyberDream developed popular VR video game Virtual Battlegrounds and worked on projects for Universal Parks & Resorts and Lockheed Martin.
Still, Pinnock never abandoned the dream of a metaverse company.
Pinnock built a team of “the best talent in the world” and created Orlando-based metaverse company Avalon Corp. On Feb. 28, Avalon announced its launch and $13 million the company raised from investors to build its product.
Avalon is developing digital tools that let other people and businesses build interconnected, virtual worlds. This means building what Pinnock told Orlando Inno he thinks of when he thinks of the metaverse. “It's the ultimate interactive universe, the ultimate video game experience.”
Avalon employs a global, remote workforce, but Pinnock said Orlando will be critical to the company as it grows. An Orlando native and University of Central Florida graduate, Pinncok said he already has hired Avalon employees from Central Florida’s “budding” gaming sector, and he aims to hire more as the company grows.
The 50-person company’s headquarters is an office at the Orlando Game Space in downtown Orlando, but Pinnock added the company likely will look for other Orlando office space in the future.
Though Avalon has $13 million thanks to a stable of outside investors, Pinnock said the firm will need to raise more money in the future. In fact, Pinnock expects the development of Avalon’s product will cost more than $60 million, often cited as the typical cost to build a high–profile video game.
Pinnock said Avalon likely will grow its staff to 50 people after its next round of funding, with the potential to employ thousands eventually.
Beyond the physical footprint in Central Florida, Avalon’s launch feeds in the region’s metaverse focus. There is a local initiative to identify Central Florida as “The MetaCenter,” and recognize it as the world’s premier market for technologies that power the metaverse due to its concentration of entertainment, gaming and simulation companies.
“Central Florida is underrated globally,” Pinnock said. “The world will be impressed.”
Although “metaverse” is a 21-year-old term, public interest in the concept took off in recent years after Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms Inc. in 2021 and organizations from Disney to Major League Baseball have made moves to grow into the metaverse.
However, Meta since last year has laid off 11,000 workers with more cuts reportedly on the way. Pinnock said most businesses laying claim to the metaverse aren’t truly building immersive, virtual worlds.
“Facebook is struggling because they're web developers, not game developers,” Pinnock said. “Making games is a mix of art and engineering, and it takes a while to make that magic spell.”
Many of Avalon’s investors acknowledge the rush to the metaverse, but they nevertheless back the blend of experiences and talent at Avalon.
For example, Jun Park — senior associate at South Korean blockchain firm Hashed that invested in Avalon’s $13 million round — said the evolution of these connected, digital worlds is “a Darwinian game, where the fittest and most useful platforms will thrive and stay alive.”
“We are excited to back Avalon Corp, led by industry veterans with a visionary view, to help the company realize its potential and pioneer the next wave of interoperable worlds,” Park said in a prepared statement.
In addition to Hashed, Avalon’s recent funding round was led by Denver-based Bitkraft Ventures, New York-based Delphi Digital and San Francisco-based Mechanism Capital.
Other investors include Coinbase Ventures, Yield Guild Games, Merit Circle, Avocado Guild and Morning Star Ventures. They were joined by individual investors: Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch; Charlie Songhurst, former head of corporate strategy at Microsoft; Dennis Fong, retired professional gamer and Robin Jung, former CEO of South Korean game developer Pearl Abyss.
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