TikTok’s former game manager starts Blockchain Company Meta0

by Arthur · July 5, 2022

Executive seeks to fix segregated infrastructure options available to blockchain game developers
Fung served in leadership roles in Electronic Arts and Alibaba Group

TikTok’s former game manager starts a blockchain infrastructure company that aims to connect different metavers.

Jason Fung is now CEO of Meta0, which works to make blockchain integrations easier for game developers through white-label application programming interfaces (APIs), as well as software development set-based solutions.

“I left TikTok because I saw a clear opportunity to offer a solution to the current segregated nature of infrastructure options available to developers looking to build blockchain games,” Fung told Blockworks in an email. “This is a problem in the market that is worth solving.”

Fung started in short form the video hosting service TikTok in June 2020 as its global head of gaming content, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a founding member of the company’s gaming team, and worked as global head of strategy and operations for the unit during his second year at TikTok.

The leader spent his early career with technology startups in the gaming area, where he helped build companies in online video, live streaming and fantasy esports.

Fung spent nine months at Electronic Arts (EA) in 2017, leading the design and development of all of EA Asia’s esports programs, including the production of live and online tournaments, he wrote on LinkedIn.

Before joining TikTok, Fung also spent two years plus as director of global e-sports at Alibaba Group.

Although the establishment of Meta0 comes at a particularly turbulent time for the crypto area, Fung said that the company is set to form its team and launch products with real-world applications.

“The recent market downturn creates an opportunity to focus on building,” he said. “I am a builder and it is nice not to be distracted by the increased market speculation and volatility.

Others in traditional games have jumped into the Web3 world recently as well.

Web3 gaming company Immutable recently hired Henry Cho, a former global product design manager for payments at Facebook, to lead the protocol’s product design.

Mark Aubrey, a former leader of Activision Blizzard – the creators of games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft – will join blockchain gaming company Catheon Gaming as co-CEO on July 11.

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Ben Strack

Ben Strack is a Denver-based reporter covering macro- and crypto-based funds, financial advisors, structured products and the integration of digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) into traditional finance. Prior to joining Blockworks, he covered the fund management industry for Fund Intelligence and was a reporter and editor for various local newspapers on Long Island. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism. Contact Ben via email at [email protected]