Sebastien Borget, co-founder and COO of The Sandbox, wants to prove that the Metaverse is not just a passing trend.

Even when the Metaverse frenzy was at its peak nearly two years ago, Sebastien Borget – co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of The Sandbox – stated that raising funds was not easy for this Web3 company. Animoca Brands may develop a decentralized Metaverse in the future. “Operating The Sandbox is like running a marathon with many sprinting moments,” Borget shared in an online interview.

Raising funds has become even more difficult now, as high loan interest rates affect investors' “appetite” for riskier investments, such as the project developing a three-dimensional virtual world combining entertainment, social interaction, and virtual trading activities of The Sandbox. The Metaverse has lost its appeal to investors, as this sector requires a lot of time and costs to become a reality. Instead, investors are shifting towards AI, emerging from the global ChatGPT craze developed by OpenAI.

Sebastien Borget still believes that the Metaverse will become a billion-dollar industry, as sectors from retail to education have applied this technology. Although the number of players participating in The Sandbox is much lower than popular games like Fortnite, which possesses some characteristics of a Metaverse game, Borget expects the company to achieve double-digit growth, with part of the momentum coming from the AI boom.