Originally published on 16 November 2024
In September 2024, we announced our seed round and upcoming participation in the Fall Cohort of the a16zcrypto Startup Accelerator (CSX).
MeshMap was one of 21 startups selected globally to join the cohort in New York City for 8 weeks.
The program includes a shared office space with the rest of the cohort, guidance and support from a16z crypto’s investing and operating teams, and weekly sessions full of firsthand lessons from top crypto founders and the broader a16z network.
One of my favorite sessions was a discussion between Chris Dixon, a16z crypto Managing Partner, and Jason Rosenthal, Head of CSX.
The topic was Dixon's recent book, Read, Write, Own, which chronicles the previous iterations of the Internet and explores how blockchain poses to reshape its future.
I grabbed a copy from the a16z crypto mini library to read over the holidays (p.s. it was great) and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand the innovative potential of Web3.
During our time in New York, we built a large outdoor AR experience for Magic Leap 2 and operated it in Washington Square Park for 3 days on Halloween weekend.
Several of our fellow cohort participants joined the tour to support us and give helpful feedback. For many of them, it was their first time trying out an augmented reality device.
For more info on how we built that experience and improved upon it, check out our blog on designing location-based AR.
Demo Day was a great success.
Ryan pitched MeshMap to an eager audience and footage from our Halloween event captured the whole room's attention.
Our cohort colleagues each delivered amazing pitches on their own products, and the evening concluded with great celebration.
We spent the next day working in the field and went to MoMA to view some of their larger spaces, such as the lobby and outdoor section, in case we ever did a future collab.
By happy coincidence, Leslie Thornton, the artist whose work was on display in the main lobby, was there that day. She noticed Ryan scanning the space and asked if we could show her the result after processing it.
With Thornton's permission and kind support, I whipped up a quick Meta Quest VR app showcasing her work, "HANDMADE".
Going into the winter, we will look to warmer climates and indoor areas to continue our testing with location-based AR experiences.
Thank you once again to a16z crypto CSX for hosting us in New York and believing in MeshMap's journey to create the maps, economy, and content layers for location-based AR.
