Yat Siu is a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur and angel investor, born in 1973 in Vienna, Austria. He is best known as the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, a global leader in blockchain gaming and NFTs, behind titles like The Sandbox and Crazy Kings. He also founded and serves as CEO of Outblaze, a tech conglomerate focused on gaming, cloud technology, and smartphone software.
Background
- Early Life: Born to a Taiwanese mother (an orchestra conductor) and a Hong Kong father (a former instrumentalist turned businessman), Siu was raised in Vienna. He studied music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, training in cello, flute, and piano, though he felt "pushed" into music by his parents.
- Education: Holds a music degree from the Musik Konservatorium Wien.
Career Highlights
- Early Career: Began in 1990 at Atari Germany, later becoming director and head of East Coast Operations for Lexicor in Boston and working with AT&T Solutions System Integration.
- Hong Kong Ventures:
- In 1996, founded Hong Kong Cybercity (later Freenation), Asia’s first free web page and email provider, which was acquired by a U.S. company.
- In 1998, established Outblaze, a cloud-based communication and gaming service. In 2009, he sold its messaging division to IBM, which used the assets to open Hong Kong’s first cloud computing lab. Outblaze then pivoted to digital entertainment.
- Animoca and Animoca Brands: Co-founded Animoca in 2011, a mobile game developer, and Animoca Brands in 2014, which focuses on blockchain, NFTs, and the open metaverse. Animoca Brands was valued at $5.9 billion in its last funding round. Siu is a vocal advocate for digital property rights and Web3 technologies.
- Other Ventures: Founded ThinkBlaze, a research arm of Outblaze, and co-founded TurnOut Ventures with Turner Entertainment. He also established the Dalton Learning Lab in 2017 to foster future-ready skills for children.
Achievements and Roles
- Awards: Named a Global Leader of Tomorrow and Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Young Entrepreneur of the Year by DHL/SCMP, and listed among Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Notable People in Blockchain.
- Current Roles:
- Non-Executive Chairman at Animoca Brands.
- Director at the Asian Youth Orchestra and advisory board member of BAFTA.
- Appointed to Hong Kong’s Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development in 2023.
- Advisor to projects like StreamHQ and a council member for The Sandbox DAO and ApeCoin.
Personal Life
- Siu is a father of three and speaks frequently on parenting, education, and technology.
- He is described as single with no public information on past relationships or children beyond his three mentioned.
Yat Siu is a pivotal figure in tech innovation, particularly in blockchain and gaming, with a career spanning over three decades, marked by a commitment to digital property rights and socially impactful technology.