Key Takeaways
- The Walt Disney Company has announced that Polygon will take place in its accelerator program this year.
- Polygon will receive leadership and mentorship from Disney; it will also participate in an on-site Demo Day.
- Flickplay and Lockerverse, two other companies with a focus on NFTs, will participate in the program as well.
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The Walt Disney Company has chosen Polygon to take part in its accelerator program, according to a press release.
Polygon Will Attend Demo Day
Blockchain firm Polygon is one of six companies that will take part in Disney’s accelerator program this year.
The program will see Disney provide guidance from its leadership team and offer a dedicated mentor. Each participant will also attend 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 take part in the program. He added that this “speaks volumes to the work being done [at Polygon], and where we’re going as a company.”
In addition to being the only blockchain selected, Polygon is a leading blockchain project in its own right. The company’s MATIC token is currently the 18th largest cryptocurrency on the market, boasting a market cap of $4.61 billion.
Disney did not say why it is 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, a social media platform for video NFTs, and Lockerverse, an online e-commerce platform that has filed NFT-related trademarks, will participate in the accelerator as well.
Though there is no indication that these efforts will evolve into a lasting relationship, Disney is clearly interested in NFTs. The company has released several lines of NFTs in partnership with the digital collectibles marketplace Veve since 2021.
Additionally, former Disney CEO Bob Iger has suggested that NFTs have “extraordinary” potential for Disney thanks to its large number of intellectual properties.
While the above accelerator participants are involved with blockchain and NFTs, the remaining three companies are more broadly involved in “metaverse” technologies.
Those three companies—Red 6, Obsess, and Inworld—are focused on augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.
