The Head at Innowise explains why the market no longer believes in fantasies and how Innowise has learned to make the metaverse a tool, not a presentation
In recent years, the metaverse has been both hyped as the “future of the internet” and criticized as an overfunded experiment. Billions are invested, yet many projects failed to retain users or justify their costs. Still, the picture is not one of collapse but of transition. By 2025, global metaverse platforms count around 700 million monthly active users, up from roughly 600 million in 2024. At the same time, Mordor Intelligence values the extended reality (XR) market at more than USD 7.5 billion this year. These figures show that adoption continues to grow, but they also underline the gap between raw potential and sustainable business use. The core challenge is clear: how can companies turn immersive technologies into tools that solve real problems, rather than just eye-catching demos?
This is the question addressed by Sergei Molchanov, Head of Business Units at Innowise, responsible for developing new digital business directions and partnerships. Since joining the company in 2021, he has grown from leading brand development to heading the Business Units, where he oversees business development projects connecting technology and real results. Molchanov has represented Innowise at global conferences in Dubai (GITEX), South Korea (Education Week), India (IACTSCON), and Thailand (Staking Summit, Devcon), and has been invited as a Web3 and metaverse advocate by leading technology media. Beyond the stage, he has helped organize three hackathons in Belarus, each bringing together over 25 student teams with approximately 100 participants, and regularly engages with the next generation of technologists through career forums and educational initiatives like OpenIT Minsk, IT Entrance, and Career Day.
In this conversation, he explains where the metaverse stands in 2025, why many early approaches failed, and what companies must do to connect digital worlds with measurable value.
Sergei, how do you assess the current state of the metaverse market, and what is its real value for business today?
The hype’s over, but the real work remains. The metaverse isn’t a pretty wrapper for pitches anymore. It’s an interface that either delivers results or it doesn’t. In 2025, we’re finally seeing clients come in not for “virtual land” but for specific solutions: boosting engagement, simplifying onboarding, and monetizing gamification.
But the market’s gotten tougher. Nobody believes in “ideas for ideas’ sake” anymore. They believe in working on products that plug into real business processes. That’s exactly where we operate, right at the boundary between fantasy and implementation. We don’t talk about “what the future could look like.” We build what people are willing to pay for today.
For me, this is part of a broader role at Innowise. As Business & Technology Development Strategist and Head of Business Units, I work not only with Web3 but also with a wide range of projects in enterprise platforms and digital product development. The metaverse is one of the latest directions where we apply this approach
What’s important to understand when creating such projects and what is your strong position here?
The main thing is understanding that the metaverse isn’t a 3D picture, but a working system: with logic, economics, and user scenarios. Clients don’t come for visual “wow factor” packaging, but for a tool that holds attention, creates engagement, and delivers measurable value.
One example is a project we implemented for Torque Squad, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. It’s a metaverse space for motorsport fans, launched on The Sandbox platform. I led the team that brought the project to life — blockchain developers, game designers, and 3D artists worked together as a single product unit. We developed two virtual locations, including a voxel version of the Monaco Grand Prix track, created a gamified experience with quests and NFT items, and converted 8,888 NFT characters into full game avatars within Sandbox’s technical limitations.
The main challenge was to assemble all this into one coherent system — visuals, game design, tokenization, and user journey. We constantly received feedback from the client and their community, adjusted the mechanics, and worked in sprints until the environment functioned as a real product, not a demo. For the client, it became more than just a “beautiful world”: it transformed their NFT collection into a living, monetizable ecosystem and an ongoing engagement channel for fans.
But many companies consider the metaverse separately from Web3. How important is it to connect virtual environments with blockchain and tokenization, and where’s the real value in this?
If you remove blockchain and tokenization, the metaverse becomes a pretty game without a business model. You can spend millions on design, but without economics, it’s a dead project.
Real value emerges when the digital environment connects to actual assets and user scenarios. NFT avatars, in-game items, tokenized tickets, or access passes — all of this creates not just a “wow effect” but new monetization and retention channels.
We’ve seen many companies fail precisely because they built “worlds for the sake of worlds.” Our approach is different: first, we ask what business problem the metaverse solves, where the economics are, and how this connects to the market. Only then do we build the technical part.
You’ve been working with meta-projects since 2021 at Innowise. What worked and what didn’t? What conclusions have you drawn during this time and what would you definitely not repeat?
First conclusion – you can’t treat the metaverse as a “standalone product.” It’s always built on top of something: a community, brand, business model. If that “something” doesn’t exist, the project’s dead from day one.
Secondly, 3D and wow design don’t create value by themselves. Clients don’t pay for beauty; they pay for engagement, LTV growth, and new monetization channels. That’s why we always started from the goal, not from the pretty pictures.
Thirdly, those who survive have teams with real experience. Since 2021, we’ve built a practice where blockchain developers, game designers, UI/UX designers, 3D artists, and project managers work as one product unit. It’s not just “everyone knows their thing,” but everyone understands why we’re doing this and how it’ll function after launch.
What wouldn’t I repeat? Making “demos for the sake of demos.” That burns through resources and people. Either we go to production or we don’t go at all.
The same principle works in other areas I supervise — from enterprise solutions to tokenization projects — we always start from the business goal, not from the picture. That’s why when we talk to partners and investors, we always show them projects that already generate revenue — not slides, but numbers.
Today, many investors are skeptical about the metaverse after the hype wave. How do you convince them that this direction is worth their attention?
Skepticism is a normal reaction after a bubble. There were too many “demos for the sake of demos” and presentations without products on the market.
We don’t convince with words, we convince with numbers. If the metaverse increases engagement by X%, reduces customer acquisition costs, or turns an NFT collection into working mechanics, investors don’t need pretty promises. They see results.
The second argument is timing. In 2021-2022, everyone was playing with “the future.” In 2025, it became clear: the metaverse development isn’t hype, it’s infrastructure that’s built into real processes, from entertainment and sports to education and retail. Investors who get this are entering now, while the market is still cleaning out weak players.
You mentioned that successful metaverse projects must serve a clear business purpose. You applied this approach within Innowise to your own processes by creating an immersive HRM module for onboarding. What was the goal behind it, and what results did it bring?
The HRM module began as a way to make onboarding match the pace of a tech company. Static PDFs and slide decks rarely convey culture or context. We built a 3D environment where newcomers can explore teams, processes, and values through interactive scenarios. It makes the first weeks clearer and more engaging and shows that immersive tools can improve internal communication, not just marketing or gaming. After we validated the concept internally, we asked a simple question: if immersion helps new teammates understand us faster, why shouldn’t it help prospective clients do the same?
Following that idea, you personally led the development of an immersive company presentation platform that now replaces a traditional corporate website. How did this project take shape, and what was your role in it?
I acted as the product owner for the project, overseeing both design and functionality. The goal was to move beyond static corporate pages and create a living digital twin of the company. Visitors can “walk through” our projects, explore use cases, and interact with product demos in real time. For clients, it turns abstract services into tangible experiences; for us, it’s a working proof that immersive tools can strengthen trust and shorten the sales cycle.
You’ve represented Innowise at major tech events like GITEX in Dubai, Education Week in Seoul, and Staking Summit in Bangkok. What do such conferences bring to your work and your team?
Each event has its own value. At GITEX, we presented how XR and Web3 solutions can support enterprise processes, while in Bangkok we discussed practical use cases for tokenization and NFT engagement. These platforms are not about visibility — they’re about validation. You see immediately whether your ideas hold up in front of an audience that truly understands the technology.
There’s also a human side to it. When our team watches us speak on international stages, it reinforces that we’re part of a global movement, not just a local contractor. It builds pride and a sense of belonging. For me, that’s as important as any business lead we might generate.
What does public presence at international conferences give you besides logos in presentations?
We don’t go to global conferences for photo ops and logos in our portfolio. There’s no point in just “showing up.” If you don’t have a product and expertise, it shows immediately.
For us, it’s three things. First is market access: that’s where decisions get made, where they look for partners and contractors. Second is validation: you test your ideas on an audience that understands the technology deeper than many clients do. Third is team building. When your people see us discussing the metaverse on world stages, they understand we’re not a local contractor, we’re part of a global movement.
This builds trust both in us as a company and in the products we create.
Where is the metaverse market heading, and what position do you plan to take in it going forward?
The next few years will be tough. Out of hundreds of projects, only a handful will survive. The rest will remain as pretty presentations and archived press releases. The market is maturing: it expects not “wow effects” but stable services, integrations, and clear economics.
Those who win will know how to combine three things: technological foundation, cross-functional teams, and a business model that’s built into the real market. Everything else is temporary noise.
For us, this means a very clear strategy: we don’t build abstract “worlds of the future,” we create products that work today.
