I was wrong about AI, but I'm right about XR!
Building the Future in XR, rethinking AI, and Europe
From one casual coffee meeting to launching a whole new XR studio with an amazing new partner.
TL;DR:
I launched a new XR studio focused on immersive ads and events 🚀
AI turned me from mild skeptic to gospel believer 🤖
Europe and the US are at a crossroads — and I’m writing more about it 🌍
Cancer vaccines might be coming soon ✨
🎯 Why XR and Why Now
Last year, I’d been in Barcelona for nearly a year, working from home with my remote team — and realized I didn’t know anyone professionally in the city. So I set out to change that.
In a flurry of coffees and meetups, I met Carolin — a veteran in advertising production — and we instantly clicked over the future of AI, XR, and the massive shifts happening in media and marketing. The advertising industry is changing fast: fewer people watch traditional TV, and AI is disrupting how ads are made. A week after our coffee, she called with an idea. Over lunch, we decided to explore launching a new XR studio together.
The timing couldn’t have been better. I was already looking to pivot my company as XR investment had slowed as capital shifted to AI, and I needed a way to keep building Foundry while generating steady revenue. I’d done professional services here and there — starting with a great project for Dell — but I didn’t really have a studio strategy.
What I needed was a niche. And here’s the thing, the categories actually making money in XR right now are pretty limited — video games, training, and marketing.
Marketing!? I know marketing. I held a variety of roles, but most of my Silicon Valley career was in marketing for tech companies. Combine that with Carolin’s decades in advertising — and suddenly the path was obvious.
A creative XR studio focused on marketing and consumer events makes perfect sense — and Foundry gives us the multiplayer tech to power the experiences we’ll build.
We’ve been quietly testing a new immersive demo with friends and close colleagues. It shows how brands can use immersive experiences instead of traditional ads — and we’ve also got a sneak peek at our next frontier: live-streamed multiplayer events in VR, like music festivals or conventions.
👓 Want to see what a music festival feels like in VR? Got a Meta Quest or PCVR? Message me — we’re giving early access to testers.
🤖 I was wrong about AI
When I last wrote about AI I was slightly pessimistic. I've changed my tune completely. I’m a full-blown believer now.
My new studio’s website came in-part courtesy of my newfound next.js and three.js skills learned in conjunction with ChatGPT.
What I used to Google, I now just ask ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is now my brainstorming partner, research assistant, and editor — but it still can’t quite write in my voice, and obviously can’t add personal anecdotes. I’ll keep writing 95% of what I publish for now.
One thing is clear, AI is getting smarter.
Will it achieve superintelligence and surpass us? That's the billion-dollar question here. Are current AIs (LLMs) limited by our knowledge or can it make novel thoughts, new ideas, and innovative leaps? Humanity has a wonderful ability to progress, pushing steadily at the frontiers of knowledge, with our occasional geniuses making astounding breakthroughs like Newton or Einstein.
Will the AIs only be as intelligent as the most intelligent humans, or can they go beyond our knowledge?
If you ask me today — I think it will surpass us. And maybe very soon.
🌍 Thinking about the future of Europe
Europe is at a crossroads, and I live here. So I keep asking myself, where are we headed next? What’s Europe’s role in the new world order? Here are a few pieces that hit me hard lately…
What Europe leads the world on
A fascinating list of things Europe is best at
notion table
European founder, David Heinemeier Hansson
“Europe is not doomed to impotent outrage or repressive anger. Europe has the people, the talent, and the capital to choose a different path. What it currently lacks is the will.”
AND Europe Must Become Dangerous Again
1632
Also: I’m nerding out over a sci-fi series where an American coal-mining town travels back in space and time to 17th-century Europe and kickstarts a political revolution. It’s ridiculous, brilliant, and surprisingly relevant.
US become EU?
Amidst calls for the EU to act more like the US, and a fascinating article by
calling for America to act a bit more like the European Union
I find myself thinking about what’s the best path forward for Europe, as well as the US, and I think it’s a middle ground, but more on that later.
✨ A feel-good ending
Cancer vaccines might be possible!
Coming out of Covid learnings with mRNA, trials look promising for individualized cancer vaccines straight out of the pages of science-fiction.
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See you next time!