Rizwan Virk 

Rizwan (“Riz”) Virk is a successful  entrepreneur, investor, futurist, bestselling author, video game industry pioneer, and indie film producer.     Riz received a B.S. in Computer Science  from MIT,  and a M.S. in Management from Stanford's GSB.  He is currently working on a PhD at ASU's College of Global Futures, researching metaverse, AI and virtual worlds, at the Center for Science and the Imagination. He also teaches at the Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, and was a visiting researcher at the Leverhulme Center for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.

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Riz was the founder of Play Labs @ MIT, a startup accelerator held on campus at  the MIT Game Lab.   He also runs Bayview Labs and is a venture partner Griffin Gaming Partners, one of the largest gaming VC funds and was an advisor to Ridge Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures).  Riz is an advisor to many startups, VC's, educational institutions, blockchain organizations and  private foundations. His interest and expertise ranges from startups/VC industry, video games/metaverse, virtual AI and smart NPCs, blockchain/cryptocurrency, meditation/consciousness, simulation theory, UFOs/UAPs, the intersection of science, science fiction, religion and philosophy.   His podcast, The Simulated Universe explores many of these issues at the edge of science and science fiction.

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Riz is a prolific Silicon Valley angel investor, having invested in many startups including Tapjoy, Telltale Games, Discord, Funzio (sold to GREE), Pocket Gems, Moon Express, Theta Labs, Bitmovio, North Bay Solutions, One Billion Tech and many others.  His video games have included Tap Fish, Penny Dreadful: Demimonde and Grimm: Cards of Fate.

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Riz has produced many indie films (imdb link), including Thrive,  Sirius,  Knights of Badassdom, starring Peter Dinklage and Summer Glau, The CW's The Outpost, as well as adaptations of the works of Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin.

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Riz’s books include The Simulation Hypothesis, The Simulated Multiverse, Startup Myths & Models, Zen Entrepreneurship, and Treasure Hunt: Follow Your Inner Clues to Find True Success.

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Riz has been featured on shows like the Joe Rogan Experience, and has written for and been featured on NBC News.com, CNN, The Telegraph, BBC Science Focus, Scientific American,  Inc. Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, Tech Crunch, Venture Beat, Vox.com,  Digital Trends, Hackernoon, The Spectator and many other places.

 

He speaks regularly on subjects such as startups, video games, the metaverse,  meditation and career success both in person and online. He has been interviewed extensively ranging from  The Joe Rogan Experience, to Inside Edition Digital,  Coast to Coast AM,  CBC's Tapestry, The History Channel and Gaia TV.

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He splits his time between  Mountain View, CA,  Cambridge, MA, and Tempe, AZ, depending on the time of year.