As nonfungible tokens (NFTs) entered the arena in 2021, Sorare emerged as one of the leaders in the space, offering blockchain-based football (soccer) player cards for participants to trade and use in fantasy sports games.

The case charts the creation and development of ObEN, a Los Angeles start-up that offers two kinds of personal artificial intelligence avatars – consumer avatars that can be created by individuals on their smartphones, and avatars that recreate a celebrity persona (requiring more data).

Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN), a start-up specialized in deep learning technologies, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) research, differentiated itself early on by aligning with Japan’s manufacturing might and bringing deep learning to the internet of things (IoT).