Into the metaverse: Q&A with Alan Kueh, co-founder of Memotics

Headquartered in Singapore, Memotics recently launched the Palace, a new metaverse that aims to allow its users to socialize and build immersive experiences through their memories and emotions.

KrASIA had a chat with co-founder of Memotics, Alan Kueh, who shared his vision of the metaverse in the next digital revolution.

This interview has been consolidated and edited for brevity and clarity.

KrASIA (Kr): Can you encapsulate the main idea behind Memotics?

Alan Kueh (AK): Memotics came about by fusing, “memories” and “emotions.” We wanted to develop a project that allows you to store your emotions and memories that can last a lifetime.

Kr: You previously helmed an architectural practice. What made you decide to build a metaverse?

AK: Memotics and its ecosystem are really centered on the idea of “boundaryless” creation. I wanted to challenge the status quo and thought to myself: What if I could create a world based on values that are not constrained by physical properties?

Coming from a background in architecture, I have always looked for opportunities to create spaces that promote wellness and sustainability. After stumbling onto the Sandbox and Decentraland, I became fascinated by the idea of world creation, especially one that can connect users all around the world to experience virtual activities and form emotional connections.

So my team and I decided to leverage our architectural experience to build the Palace, our very own metaverse with its focus on ‘learn-to-earn’ experiences.

Kr: What was the funding like for Memotics?

AK: At the beginning, we pooled together our own funds to build both the genesis collection and the metaverse.

Later, we had the support of investors, who started out as holders of our genesis collection (which was a free mint). They saw our passion and believed in our vision.

Today, we’ve been able to onboard a few Web2 companies into our metaverse by allowing them to tap the Palace for educational and e-commerce earning opportunities. This has allowed us to earn revenue while growing the Memotics brand.

Kr: Your platform is based on a ‘learn and experience to earn’ model. Is that how you differentiate yourself from other metaverses?

AK: When we first carried out our research on metaverses and looked into use cases, we realized how certain factors had prevented other metaverses from increasing user adoption. For example, some were not user-friendly, others were too focused on GameFi, or lacked real-world value for their users.

In the end, we decided to build a metaverse that would allow users to ‘learn and experience’ while earning in-house rewards. This is a feature that was not previously well executed in the Web3 space, so we decided to focus on building sustainable learning and earning experiences.

When building the Palace, we also wanted to make it a safe haven for our community users to bond with each other while learning. More importantly, we want them to have fun.

Kr: Memotics was recently launched during a crypto bear market. Do you think it was a good time to launch a startup?

AK: Regardless of the bear market, I believe there are still opportunities in the Web3 space to create a brand with sustainable growth. The true believers of the power of community and blockchain technology are going to stick around and ride through the bear and into the bull. For us, we want to provide a safe shelter for them to ride this out.

Kr: What tools do you leverage when building your metaverse?

AK: We tapped our experience in architectural design to build our metaverse using Unreal Engine 5. Our Genesis collection, Homies, which are rigged 3D model NFTs, were all created in-house.

Kr: Do you recall any significant challenges that you faced on this startup journey?

AK: After I launched Memotics, I realized that it was more than just a business—I was responsible for building an entire community. It takes a lot of work and time to grow a strong community with a common goal and mindset. For this to happen, we poured our hearts and souls into developing the community. Thankfully, within a six-month period, the Memotics community has grown to over 8,000 members.

Kr: What are your future plans?

AK: We are currently working on our upcoming NFT drops. We are also looking to onboard more Web2 business partners into our ecosystem. We will engage the digital world in a wholly different way, one that focuses on immersive lifestyle integration.