Fighting cocks, a16z and AI
Cockfights were held in ancient times in the countries of the East: India, China, Persia and others. Fighting cocks arrived in Babylon around 700 BC. e. along with Persian soldiers who returned from a campaign against India.
In Asia, cockfights were part of the ritual: a rooster that died in battle was sacrificed to the gods, while in Europe it was more like a sport. So, for example, in England of the 16th century, this was one of the favorite pastimes of the nobility. Bets were placed on the outcome of the battle. But in the 19th century, Queen Victoria issued a decree banning cockfighting, and this type of gambling business fell into decay.
At the moment, this type of "sport" is banned in almost all countries of the world, but to this day illegal events are held, which are especially common in Asian countries.
So what's the connection with one of the coolest funds to date and cockfighting mixed with AI?
Maybe Neuralink will be implanted in robots of transformer roosters and they will fight not for life, but for shutdown, as in the movie Real Steel?
Be sure to watch the promotional video dedicated to the new fund from Andreessen Horowitz.
It is interesting because of the sneek peaks of various projects where investments have already been directed, and yes, there are answers to all the questions above - Mecha Fight Club.
Fighting cocks? YES! They are the most. The project gives us the opportunity to take part in fight club competitions in a special metaverse.
How does this happen?
According to the plot, the action takes place in a world with alien technology. Corporations have monopolized everything possible and enslaved humanity, but global resistance captured these technologies and turned them into weapons of mass entertainment.
Rooster-Mechbots are smart, and chickens are even smarter. Each mechabot is a completely unique individual living on the blockchain, with its own digital biology and intelligence. They will even learn by developing their own fighting styles and personalities throughout their lives!
They live to fight and love to breed, giving us masters the opportunity to influence the next generation's gene pool.
Well, what do you say? Nothing special, the usual metaverse with a standard set and a cool fund. But not everything is so simple.
A16z has become a leading investor, but not in Mecha Fight Club, but in the developer of this project - Irreverent Labs, so investments go into infrastructure, patents, designer - all this is an additional niche for sales.
Аmbition and scale
Irreverent Labs, in order to provide a unique immersive game experience, does not fire bullets, but cannonballs. They are betting on the development of AI - this is unheard of in video games. This effort is being led by David Raskino, former CTO of the Microsoft Cyber Defense Group.
Players, that is, we, will fight and train in the “cabin”, where mechabots train, and professional-level tournaments are held on the main battle arena of the Koktagon metaverse. Both types of battles will offer AR, VR.