Yat Siu is the Co-founder and Chairman of Animoca Brands is a Web3 leader that leverages blockchain to deliver digital property rights to consumers worldwide to help establish the open metaverse. ^[1][2][3][4]

Early Life & Education

Yat Siu's mother, originally from Taiwan but born in Lisbon, Portugal, was an orchestra conductor. Born in Hong Kong, his father began as an instrumentalist before transitioning into business. ^[5]

Yat Siu studied at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, where he trained in cello, flute, and piano. According to the South China Morning Post, he suggests that he was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps and pursue a career in music. ^[5]

Career

Yat Siu's early career began at Atari Germany. Later, he served as a director and led East Coast Operations for Lexicor and AT&T's Solutions System Integration practice. ^[6]

In 1996, after relocating to Hong Kong, he founded Cybercity, an internet and email provider. The company was later renamed Freenation, which the South China Morning Post described as "Asia's first free web page and email provider."

In 1998, he met Antony Yip, a tech-savvy young professional, and together they created Outblaze—a service that allowed customers to create customized websites with private-label, free web email, mailing lists, message boards, and chat services. ^[5][6]

"Then in '98 we couldn't raise the money: potential investors were not going to give funds to two kids. Early in '99 Antony and I went our separate ways [Mr Yip to found myrice.com], and the company was living off my credit cards until construction firm China Rich Holdings came in."^[5]

In 2003, he became a Board Member of the Asian Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of the advisory board of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) since joining in 2013. ^[6]

Animoca Brands

In 2015, Yat Siu co-founded Animoca Brands and served as the Director of the company. At the time, Animoca Brands (ASX:AB1) was a Game Developer and Publisher for content such as Cryptokitties, Garfield, Doraemon, and Ultraman and is public on the ASX. It develops mobile games and applications as well as blockchain games and dApps. ^[4]

Animoca Brands leverages gamification, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of mobile products including games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes as well as products based on popular intellectual properties such as Garfield, Thomas & Friends™, Ever After High and Doraemon. The Company is based in Hong Kong, Canada, and Finland with Yat Siu becoming the chairman of the board at Animoca Brands in 2018. ^[6]

In March 2023, Animoca Brands launched Mocaverse, a Web3 community connected through its unique NFT collection of 8888 Mocas, categorized into five tribes: Dreamers, Builders, Angels, Connectors, and Neo-Capitalists. Mocas represent different personas in the Web3 ecosystem and offer many associated initiatives and benefits to their holders. ^[9]

On other web3 exploration areas for the company, Siu answered CoinMarketCap saying;

"We're involved in education with Open Campus, where we're onboarding universities, colleges and students into the space. Education is a $5 trillion market, significantly larger than gaming. There's massive potential in moving education on-chain, including possibilities for managing student loans more efficiently.""We're also focusing on being institutional-ready. Our MOCA token has performed well compared to other gaming and metaverse tokens because it has institutional backing. To attract institutional investors, you need to show your roadmap and plans clearly.""We're also exploring NFTs as a way to protect intellectual property rights and as proof of humanity. In a world where AI is becoming more prevalent, it's crucial to have ways to verify that you're dealing with actual humans who have reputations built over time."^[9]

Animoca Fundings

In 2015, Animoca Brands went public on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with an IPO that raised A$2.4 million. In 2021, the company raised $138.88 million in two tranches, achieving a valuation of $1 billion and becoming a crypto unicorn. ^[8]

In September 2023, the company raised $20 million in an Unattributed VC round with investors including CMCC Global and Kingsway Capital Partners. And in December 2023, $11.89 million in an Unattributed VC round with investors like Block1, Dapper Labs, and OKX Ventures. ^[8]

In November 2024, they announced additional funding of US$10 million for Mocaverse to build out the interoperable infrastructure tech stack for consumer crypto adoption with large user base ecosystems. ^[8][10]Yat Siu commented on the funding saying:

“With Mocaverse and its Realm Network we are bringing the Web3 ethos of interoperability to life, driving decentralization and shared network effects across the broader Web3 ecosystem. The raise announced today features participation from esteemed and strategically important investors, and we are honored by this level of support as we work to advance digital property rights, interoperability, and the evolution of the Internet into more equitable decentralized systems.”^[10]

Others

Yat Siu is a Board Director for the Dalton Foundation which he joined in 2020. The Dalton Foundation is the sponsoring body of the Dalton School Hong Kong (DSHK) a school that strives to offer a progressive child-centered education, nurturing self-paced and self-directed learning. ^[11]

Hong Kong Task Force Appointment

In July 2023, Yat Siu was appointed to the Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Chaired by the Financial Secretary, the Task Force comprises 15 non-official members from the relevant market sectors, with the participation of key Government officials and financial regulators. ^[7]

Yat Siu  commented;

“I am honoured to be appointed to the Task Force and I look forward to contributing to this forward-thinking initiative. The Task Force firmly establishes Hong Kong as the leading example of a mature and highly modernized economy that embraces the remarkable opportunities presented by Web3, blockchain, virtual assets, and the open metaverse. I believe that the work of the Task Force will help to shape not only Hong Kong but also globally in the adoption of blockchain technologies, particularly in the areas of regulation, ecosystem building, industry development,  and talent development.”^[7]

X Account Compromised

On December 26, 2024, Yat Siu's X account was compromised and used to promote a fictitious token. His metaverse company, Animoca posted a warning on its own account at 01:36 UTC on the 26th saying Siu's account had been compromised and the company was not introducing an official token or non-fungible token (NFT). ^[12]

"Unfortunately @ysiu social media account has been compromised. There is no official token or NFT launch from Animoca Brands. The token launch on Solana as claimed in a post was made by the hacker. Please DO NOT engage with the account and stay vigilant." - Animoca's team tweeted ^[13]

According to ZachXBT, the exploit was probably perpetrated through a phishing email that purported to come from X and be related to copyright infringement. The false post from Siu's account promoted a token named MOCA on the Solana blockchain. ^[14]

According to a post from Mocaverse, the creator of the Moca Coin (MOCA), control of Siu's account has been secured by X, which is in the process of verifying ownership. Related accounts remain untouched.

"This morning [Dec 26, 2024, 09:00 HKT], Yat’s official X account @ysiu was reported to have been compromised by unauthorized access despite with 2FA set up, where the bad actor used the account to post false information and links regarding a fake SOLANA token."

"There is no compromise on Animoca Brands, Moca Network or MOCA Foundation official handles, and there are strict security measures in place," it said. ^[15]