We had the pleasure to be a guest in an AMA session with VenusQueen and her engaged team. Not only did we receive great questions we haven’t answered before, but we also shared big news!
If you missed the session, make sure to check out our detailed transcript. Enjoy!
Venus Queen: Hello everyone, please welcome Nils Wollny — CEO and co-founder of holoride. Thank you Nils for being with us today. We are very excited to learn about holoride.
gram小霸王: Welcome Nils 😊
aQua: Grüß Gott Nils!
C A: Hello and welcome to Venus family @NilsWollny. It is a pleasure having you here with us today. Looking forward to learning more about your exciting project holoride!
Nils Wollny: Hi everyone, happy to be here!
Servus!
Erifmaz: willkommen among the Venusians, Nils
Venus Queen: To start with please tell us little bit about holoride and what problem it aims to solve.
Nils: holoride takes everyday journeys and transforms them into hyper-immersive experiences by combining navigational and car data with Extended Reality — e.g. Virtual Reality.
We aim to make transit time count.
Most media formats do not adapt to travel time and are usually less enjoyable while on the go. This means that consuming media in the car is not as much fun as it should be. Also, two-thirds of passengers suffer from motion sickness when consuming visual content in cars. And, lastly, it is not possible to use VR devices in the vehicle yet.
We’re changing that!
Erifmaz: When you say journeys and car rides, how will you deal with traffic jams? Can your games still be played with a car at standstill?
Nils Wollny: Yes, our localization software also works if you are in a traffic jam. So there is no need to drive all the time, but it’s obviously more fun when the car moves! 😉
Venus Queen: That is revolutionary concept I must say. I am curious to know about the team behind holoride.
Nils: Sure thing! Our team is our most important source of success. At the moment more than 30 holoriders from companies such as Audi, BMW, Apple and Amazon are belonging to our team. We are more than 10 nationalities.
We have incredibly talented people and experts from various fields who support us in our endeavor and are sharing our vision.
Venus Queen: Wow very impressive Nils.
gram小霸王: That’s very impressive Nils! Would you be able to describe a real-world example of how the holoride experience will play out during a car ride, etc?
aQua: Can you tell us, how many games you plan to release and what will be their gameplay and do you plan to upgrade the existing game in the future, rank system, etc.
Nils: Regarding real-world examples: imagine your ride in a car transforms into a journey through the Metaverse. Instead of riding a real car, you might travel a spaceship, a cariot or a dragon.
Let me add a few visual examples. Look at this video from Bride of Frankenstein:
@aQua: For our market launch in the second half of the year, we’ll have a small lineup in place. We will be focussing for starters on entertainment formats. This will include 2D content in a virtual cinema mode that allows you to enjoy films, series, and documentaries. Also, we will offer gaming formats.
But we’ll gradually grow our content library. To make sure our library grows, we encourage content creators to build their own content through our Creator Space with our Elastic SDK. Our Creator Space is a platform for exchange between developers, artists, and enthusiasts alike. You can learn more about it here: https://www.holoride.com/elastic-sdk
However, we’ll ensure the quality for users. That’s why we will curate and publish the content, kind of similar to how app stores work.
Venus Queen: Oh my my..this is incredible Nils. I cannot wait to try it. Great stuff. So could you please describe the use of $RIDE token? and what benefits do I have as a long term $RIDE token holder? I mean can I stake my $RIDE tokens ?
Nils: But I don’t want to miss out on the question people might be most interested about 😉
In fact, we’ve got something to share today:
We’re about to launch our RIDE ‘Metastaking’ program that everyone is waiting for! 🚀
Over the course of 12 months, we will be enabling RIDE token holders to be an active part of the platform development.
We’re dedicating a total of 21.75M million RIDE token to the Metastaking program as part of our long-term commitment to building a strong and engaging ecosystem.
We will share the exact timing when staking will start on the Maiar Exchange once final testing is complete. Get ready and become a HODLrider 😉
You are the first to know and we’ll share the news in a few minutes.
Let me quickly go out with the tweet ⏳
Venus Queen: That is great news for $RIDE token holders. I am sure community will appreciate it very much. Thank you Nils
Nils: It’s out now:
aQua: So, will the service be subscription based, with a monthly fee? Or are games/entertainment formats and experiences sold as a whole for a single price each?
Nils: We’re going for a subscription-based model that is common for other platforms as well. But we’re also thinking about pay-per-ride experiences allowing for a bit more flexibility.
C A: Everything sounds truly impressive Nils! A revolutionary concept indeed. What are the main features of your platform? I am particularly interested in the Education and Mindfulness program, what can you tell us about that?
Nils: We have four initial content categories in mind: entertainment, productivity, education, and mindfulness.
When it comes to mindfulness, we are thinking about creating well-being and relaxing experiences to unwind while enjoying a dive through the ocean or flying over the rainforest.
For education, we are enabling interactive learning and historical sightseeing to explore the world with highly engaging and educational content at every turn.
We already have created such an experience together with Audi in Salzburg. Check out this video to see what’s possible:
aQua: Is the subscription a fee paid in $RIDE, or is it a tiered system where X number of Ride should be held to gain access?
Nils: Our goal is to offer as much flexibility as possible. So yes, in theory, you should be able to pay for your subscription or the content with both RIDE and/or fiat.
This is actually a great point. I’ll take that with me and discuss with the team how we can make of that! Thanks for the hint 💡
C A: Wow, this sounds truly fantastic! So looking forward to give it a try.
Erifmaz: When I see such awesome experiences for passengers, I have to ask : Can we expect a partnership with a big car sharing company like UBER? Not necessarily tomorrow, but do you even think about it?
Venus Queen: Great question Erif
Nils: Of course, mobility providers are a super interesting field to apply holoride! Simply for the nature of the short ride, the holoride experience is perfect for entertainment on the go. Stay tuned.
aQua: Who is the target audience? Do you have an age limit that you would define as being too young to be suitable for using this application
Nils: Teens and twens will be our primary target audience for our market launch. But we also believe that holoride shouldn’t be limited to Gen Z and millennials and especially to those who love to immerse themselves into different worlds 🤩
In general, we’re recommending a minimum age of 13 following the recommendation of the big players in the VR headset space.
Venus Queen: Audi group is your partner, do you think you will ‘share’ your tech with other car companies like Tesla. I am sure Elon Musk would love tech like holoride.
Nils: We are going for a so-called manufacturer agnostic approach, which means not being tied to a specific automotive or headset manufacturer. Our ultimate goal is that holoride will be available in every car in the near future, regardless of the brand or model.
We have already partnered with other automotive companies like Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford. And recently we announced a collaboration with Hyundai.
To learn more about the ZER01NE program, read this article: https://www.holoride.com/newsroom/holoride-completes-hyundai-zer01ne-accelerator
Venus Queen: That is great, I like that approach.
Nils: Talking about Elon https://twitter.com/Nils_Wollny/status/1423484156323958784
Venus Queen: Wow congratulations holoride team and community.
Hope we will see collaboration with Tesla soon.
C A: And I suppose many are wondering now, how is motion sickness going to be addressed?
Nils: We know that every third person can’t use conventional audio-visual media on the road due to motion sickness. Synchronizing content with the motion of the vehicle in real-time helps to reduce signs of motion sickness.
We’ve conducted various user studies with the result that our technology is significantly reducing motion sickness and strongly improving the in-car experience for passengers.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that holoride removes motion sickness or signs of nausea completely. The feeling of motion sickness is also influenced by other external factors. But through the reduction of the symptoms, we are helping make travel time more valuable for passengers.
gram小霸王: Wow; this is a truly innovative idea… Very impressive solution to the problem of motion sickness!
C A: That’s great to know. Thank you Nils, sounds very promising.
Gram小霸王: This is such an exciting and innovative project, I may have to change my name to “HoloGram” 😂😂
Nils: 😍
C A: Haha, it is very exciting indeed!
Erifmaz: And anything planned in terms of connectivity for other passengers than the one wearing the VR headset? Maybe some Android Auto / Apple Carplay integration?
Nils: At this moment, VR goggles are only compatible with android as some of you might know. Therefore, we will start with android as an operating system.
As a little teaser: We are currently exploring how other passengers can be part of the experience without wearing a VR headset. Just think about other devices the people carry along that might be enabled to influence the experience 😉
Venus Queen: Will there be a multiplayer mode, in which the rider can play a game together with a friend that he is travelling with, in the same car, or even in two different cars with the same destination? On the same note, could there be a feature implemented so that players can battle each other in a shared network whilst taking the ride?
Nils: Multiplayer mode is common in the gaming industry and it is something that we are looking into. We’ll let the community know once we have this mode in play 😉
aQua: Can you tell us something about driver’s safety, somebody who has VR Headset is not IRL basically, so he might potentially distract the driver?
Nils: Based on the way holoride’s Elastic SDK is built, we take all necessary precautions to avoid extreme behaviors during gameplay or any other formats, which would distract the driver.
We recommend playing the experience in the backseat, so you are not distracting the driver.
C A: Will geographical location influence the experience? In other words, will there be a huge difference for someone using the VR set in San Francisco to someone taking a ride and using it in London?
Nils: We use localization software to sync the content you are seeing with the vehicle’s motion, position, and map data in real time — creating an entirely new level of immersion. We call this new media format Elastic Content. This means that no experience is like the other.
In the end, it doesn’t really make a difference if you are in San Francisco or London, you’ll have a great time anyway!
C A: Got it, awesome! Are there any plans to integrate with other chains in the future?
Nils: We believe in the vision of the Elrond blockchain, the team, and their community. We chose the Elrond blockchain for many reasons: security, speed, low costs and a good user experience. These are all factors that are very important for the holoride ecosystem.
In order to ensure interaction within our community, we’ll need to make sure the blockchain is fast and has low transaction costs.
Erifmaz: So we learnt about the token’s new staking, about the way we’ll pay for content, but I wonder is there any new exchange listing planned for $RIDE ?
Nils: Additional listings are on our list 😉
Venus Queen: Awesome, community would love it.
C A: Sounds great, thank you.
Erifmaz: Fantastic ! We have one staple question that we ask all our AMA participants : you meet the real Satoshi Nakamoto, he’s there right in front of you.
What’s the only one question that you always wanted to ask him?
Nils: Wen $RIDE?
Venus Queen: Thank you so much Nils for answering our questions patiently. We will unmute the group so if community members have any questions for you. May be you can answer couple of questions from community.
Venus Queen: lol nailed it.
C A: Haha
aQua: Thank Nils, was fun to learn more about the project!
Community Question 1: What is #holoride revenue model? In which ways do you generate revenue/profit? So many projects just like to speak about the long term vision and mission but what are your short terms objectives? What are you focusing right now? ❓
Nils: We will offer passes to passengers plus allowing for in-experience purchases. The revenue will be shared with our ecosystem partners.
Regarding short-term objectives: launching our product this fall with a high involvement of our community and $RIDE token holders.
Community Question 2: Hello Sir, what makes holoride different from its competitors? Such as Oculus or others…
Nils: holoride’s approach is unique. Headset manufacturers as much as car manufacturers are not competitors for us but ecosystem partners which contribute in enabling the holoride in-car experience.
That is why Oculus is not a competitor — quite the opposite.
Community Question 3: As an investor, can you give me 1–2 important reasons to invest in holoride ?
Nils: Outstanding team. Real-world substance. World-class partners. Revulotionary user experience. Monetizing travel time. Strong tech. Many patents.
Community Question 4: Currently attracting real users and mass Adoption is a problem for Blockchain projects. So how will holoride solve this problem?
Nils: We’re solving this problem by bringing a real-world use case to the blockchain. In fact, we’re bringing the Metaverse into cars, and cars to the Metaverse.
By adding real value to passengers and ecosystem participants via incentives such as the use of the $RIDE token, we’re driving engagement.
C A: Thank you so much for your time today @NilsWollny and for answering community’s questions! It was truly great finding out more about holoride! We wish you all the very best and good luck with everything coming up!
Venus Queen: Thank you @NilsWollny for giving your valuable time to us. We wish lots of success to holoride and will be keeping close eye on the upcoming events.
Nils: Thanks so much for having me today! Don ’t forget to follow for more exciting announcements!
My LinkedIn & Twitter profiles
holoride social channels
RIDE on! 🚀
About holoride
holoride creates an entirely new media category for passengers by connecting Extended Reality (XR) content with data points from the vehicle in real-time. These data points include physical feedback, like acceleration and steering, traffic data, as well as travel route and time. holoride technology provides a new type of immersion into any kind of VR content, creating a breathtaking, immersive experience, and significantly reducing motion sickness.
The tech startup was founded at the end of 2018 in Munich, Germany by Nils Wollny, Marcus Kuehne, Daniel Profendiner, and Audi, who holds a minority stake in the startup.
In April 2021, holoride raised €10 million in its Series A funding round led by Terranet AB, earning the company a €30 million valuation. That same year, holoride won the prestigious SXSW Pitch and was also named Best in Show. It has been hailed “Best of CES 2019” four times, recognized as one of the “100 Best Inventions of 2019” by TIME Magazine, and is part of the global innovation platform “STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play”.
