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- The Architect Building the Creator-Owned Metaverse with The Sandbox
The Architect Building the Creator-Owned Metaverse with The Sandbox
Sébastien Borget, Co-Founder of The Sandbox. Discover his journey, The Sandbox's $115M+ story, 6M+ users & his vision for a decentralized metaverse.
Who is truly building the Metaverse? Not just the virtual spaces, but the economic foundations and philosophies that will define our digital future? Meet Sébastien Borget, the Co-Founder and COO of The Sandbox, a leading decentralized virtual world, and a key figure shaping the creator economy within blockchain gaming and NFTs.
This profile dives deep into Sébastien's journey, the remarkable story of The Sandbox – from a simple mobile game with 40 million downloads to a billion-dollar metaverse platform backed by over $115M in funding – and his unwavering vision for a user-owned digital frontier. (Want to hear Sébastien discuss this in his own words? Check out the full conversation on the Alpha Un# podcast after reading!)
From Engineering to Entrepreneurship
Based in Paris, France, Sébastien Borget isn't just a tech executive; he describes himself as an "Entrepreneur & Dad." With over 14 years experience in growing startups (including 11 years in Mobile Gaming and 4+ years in Blockchain as noted on his profile), his path was paved for innovation. He holds a Computer Science Engineering Degree from Telecom SudParis and a Master's from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Before diving headfirst into blockchain, Sébastien co-founded Pixowl in 2011, the studio initially behind The Sandbox mobile game, serving as its Chief Operations Officer. His experience managing international teams (Pixowl's team numbered around 25 people during key mobile growth phases) and navigating the fast-paced world of mobile gaming laid crucial groundwork.
The Sandbox: A Pivot from Pixels to Ownership
The Sandbox didn't start as a blockchain metaverse. Its first iteration, launched by Pixowl in 2012, was a highly successful 2D pixel art mobile game. It garnered over 40 million downloads globally and saw users generate an incredible 70 million creations. It was a testament to the power of user-generated content (UGC).
But Sébastien noticed a problem hindering its long-term success:
"...over time, our best creators... they were leaving the game... we realized it was just for lack of like, monetization... even people love creating, they don't just live out of their passion."
The centralized nature meant creators couldn't easily own or monetize their work. This led to the exploration of blockchain around 2017-2018 and the potential of NFTs.
"And with NFT, we discovered the ability to enable people to make their own content, to exchange it between users, to sell it even outside of the game... Let's make that every creation is an NFT so players own it, can exchange with each other, can sell it as they want, and we receive payment for their work."
This sparked the pivot to rebuild The Sandbox as a 3D, decentralized virtual world. In August 2018, Pixowl and The Sandbox IP were acquired by Animoca Brands, a leader in digital entertainment and blockchain gaming (itself boasting a portfolio of over 380 Web3 investments as of early 2023). This acquisition provided crucial backing. TSB Gaming Ltd., the entity holding The Sandbox IP, was incorporated in Malta in September 2018.
Inside The Sandbox Metaverse Voxel World
The Sandbox platform ecosystem includes:
VoxEdit: Software for creating 3D voxel assets.
Game Maker: A no-code tool for building interactive experiences.
Marketplace: For trading NFT assets using the SAND token.
Virtual Land: The foundation of the map.
The world features a finite map of 166,464 LAND parcels. Each LAND is an NFT representing a 100m x 100m digital space. Owning LAND allows creators to publish experiences. At the time of the podcast interview, Sébastien mentioned about 75% of the map had been sold. The entire map's scale is comparable to a megacity like Paris or London.
The core philosophy remains user empowerment:
"The big difference with the use of a technology that is blockchain is the fact that it's actually decentralized. It means like all the content, the identity, ah eventually the currency and the creation of the users are actually digital assets on the blockchain that are truly owned by the users themselves..."
This vision has attracted over 6.3 million registered wallets. Partnerships are key, with over 400 brands and celebrities joining, including Warner Music Group, Ubisoft, Gucci Vault, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Atari, and Jurassic World. These partners build experiences, attracting users and creating valuable "neighbourhoods" within the virtual real estate landscape.
Funding the Vision & Growth
Building a metaverse requires substantial capital. The Sandbox has secured over $115 million in funding across at least 5 rounds since its blockchain pivot began.
Key milestones include:
An early ~$2.5 million raise (cash and crypto via SAND/SAFE notes) announced in May 2019, led by Hashed.
A landmark $93 million Series B round in November 2021, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with Animoca Brands and many others participating.
A $20 million strategic funding round announced in June 2024, led by Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands.
The company has also grown through strategic acquisitions, integrating talented teams globally:
Cualit (Uruguay, ~90 professionals, boosting LatAm team towards 150)
Sviper (Germany, 40 members)
QED (Romania, 17 people, becoming the 13th office location)
The native SAND token, used for transactions, staking, and governance, has a maximum supply capped at 3,000,000,000 SAND.
A Leader Shaping the Broader Ecosystem
Sébastien Borget's influence extends further. In 2020, he became President of the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA). Starting with around 250 members then, he noted the BGA has grown to over 600 member companies advocating for blockchain in gaming.
"...educate about the benefit of blockchain technology within gaming. I feel like the first benefit is for the players themselves, like players through digital asset ownership..."
In June 2024, he also co-founded ArtVerse, a physical digital art gallery in Paris, bridging digital and physical art communities.
The Vision: Empowerment Through Ownership
Sébastien's driving motivation is clear: empowerment.
"Like the main mission of Sandbox is, in other words, being like, how do we empower anyone to be a creator? So when every day I wake up and I see like what creators are doing with Sandbox... I feel proud."
He acknowledges challenges like improving user experience, enhancing security, ensuring fun, and navigating regulation, but remains focused on the positive potential of a user-owned digital future.
The Road Ahead
Sébastien Borget and The Sandbox continue to build and expand, solidifying their position as pioneers in the decentralized metaverse space. With millions of users, hundreds of partners, significant financial backing, and a core philosophy rooted in digital ownership and the creator economy, they are shaping a significant part of our evolving digital world.