Beyond the Hype: Why Web3 Infrastructure is Epic and Powerful - TOKEN2049 London 2022

all right what a crowd long flight long flight indeed uh Mo and I accidentally shared an overnight flight from New York to London flew in this morning and uh also shared a cab right here so we're getting pretty comfortable with each other prepping for this panel uh but thanks for having us yeah thank you all for uh for being here um and yeah it's beautiful to be in a in an amazing City especially when uh I've moved from New York City to apto so it's nice to see the energy and and of course all the amazing people here today so thank you for having us in London um very quickly I'm Mo shake a co-founder CEO of Aptos prior to building Aptos I've spent time at my former employer meta we're working on a project called DM and Libra or and Novi that you may have all heard of um and before that I spent a lot of time in in the ethereum world and before that I spent a lot of time with probably the crowd that was up here before us uh in finance working at BlackRock and and BCG in uh in financial markets so yeah awesome and yeah Simon Bax is here uh with Google about six years with Google and I lead our go to market MBD for for web3 um which is exciting to say on this stage uh Mo and I actually go back maybe 11 or 12 months which in crypto years puts us basically as childhood friends um but uh we met at East Denver about nine months ago in February and uh we had dinner with a lot of kind of top peak Founders in web3 uh from from various companies and uh the Aptos team was very early on at the time it was basically three four months in out of meta just raising money but there was something special there that I think we saw and ever since we've kind of collaborated Rift on different ideas shared best practices and the Aptos team in general has been super helpful in kind of letting and helping Google figure out you know how to approach web 3 and how should we be doing this and how should we kind of solve real problems together um so you know generally speaking I won't spend too much time on this because we'll get into specific examples but most people have heard of Google uh I hope at least but maybe not everyone has heard of sort of what we're doing in web3 and uh We've really embraced web3 uh in a big way I would say from announcements that we made recently about accepting crypto to building developer tooling like the blockchain node engine all the way to investing and partnering with the top industry leaders in the space um we built out multiple teams internally we have a lot of efforts going on like we're in it for the long run which is which is super exciting and partnering with companies like Aptos and the ecosystem is has just been really really fun um and we kind of view ourselves as a sort of bridge from web 2 to web3 uh and we'll unpack that in a little bit here I think with with Mo but more importantly I think what I always like to say like the way that we are operating in this space is we're really being conscious and deliberate of the ethos of web3 and really taking into consideration decentralization and openness and ownership all the factors that really matter uh especially when coming from a company like Google um that said though you know that's a little bit about us Moe would like love to hear kind of what you guys were working on you've been an absolute rocket ship the past 12 months it's been Stellar to see the growth like tell us what Aptos has been up to and and uh what everyone should know here sure um yeah and you know it may look like a rocket ship that you know over the last 12 months but you know again we've been building this for a long time um you know almost three and a half years in the making um and what we landed on with Aptos today is we are a permissionless delegated proof of stake Network layer one blockchain and we're designed with upgradability and scalability at the core but the way we get to that is really putting users first and those users are developers that are building applications and they're users that are using those applications and we when we look at the landscape today it is very difficult for an average individual that's used to using web2 to have a web3 experience they're very excited but the moment they dip in and you know enter that portal it's it's hard for them and that applies also for developers you know developers are really excited about all the applications and the use cases they can build but they find it to be very difficult whether it comes down to the L1 infrastructure because there's challenges associated with it or whether it comes down to tools that are there for developers to get them up and running Aptos is designed with those developers in mind and we don't we we haven't built a network that's that stands just today but it's designed in a way that will continuously upgrade in for the future and that is really powerful because you know we don't know where these use cases are going to go we don't know what kind of uh entrepreneurial uh Spirits are going to lead to in terms of innovation so we want to make sure we can keep up with them and that's that's going to be really important for them we also use a brand new smart contract language called move and that smart contract language was also designed from the ground up we've seen things like rust and solidity and we've heard the the challenges that people are facing developers specifically when they're trying to write applications that can scale smart contracts that could represent you know millions of dollars or even billions of dollars of value and move basically ensure security for those developers it's also very simple for them to then continue to monitor those smart contracts and take them or scale them as uh as their applications uh improve and and so move is really uh an amazing differentiator and we think something that the web 3 ecosystem has needed for for a long time so you know having a completely brand new L1 with a new smart contract language is something that Aptos is very excited about bringing to market last point that I wanted to make um you know we've didn't launch this thing uh you know with with the hopes of understanding what's going to happen in the market we've actually uh you know coming from Fang type companies or I guess meta is replaces the F these days um mang okay it doesn't have the same ring um you know we wanted to test this network extensively before it went to Market we had four test Nets that we ran throughout the year in each one of those test Nets we took developer feedback in up Incorporated that feedback into each one of the test Nets and that's what allowed us to get to mainnet a few weeks ago so this is you know coming to Market probably one of the most tested networks out there and developers are really excited about that too um but you know I I I'm sure you want to talk a little bit about what you guys have been excited about with Aptos have passed it back to you yeah absolutely and it's been just Stellar to watch what you guys have been able to accomplish three weeks four weeks into mainnet right um but but the promise of scalability of security of sort of user experience and Flawless upgradability and and the embracement of the move language I think are all things that really make this this sort of new layer one ecosystem exciting and so we're exciting to we're excited to be kind of a part of that and we've been there through devnet through testnet and now you know with mainnet which is which is really neat and I think like in general the theme that I'm hearing and I think the theme that is important to to convey here is is building and developing right market conditions are tough never a dull week in crypto that's for sure um and and this is no this is no different but I think um taking the Builder's mindset and working together and collaborating and approaching the ecosystem together to uplift It Forward is is extremely important and I think that's sort of the intention of us talking about our partnership and kind of what we're going to do together to hopefully to hopefully do that for uh for not only our two organizations but for the ecosystems that are involved couldn't agree more and I mean look there's a lot of people in this room here and um some of you have probably been in the space for a long time right um and you know we you know I empathize um I felt that pain I'm sure many of you in this room are are feeling that pain many people tuning into this um are going through a difficult time and you know we are human we should empathize with that but I think the the important point is the one that you raise right um despite what's happening in the market we are all here today many of us probably flew in from parts of the world uh um to make it here because that's how dedicated we are to web3 and the promise and the mission that this uh this technology has and now more than ever we need to really hone in on each other the communities I see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and in the Halls this community is what's going to get us to really good infrastructure and good first principles and I think that's more important now uh than ever so totally agree and I think it's sort of one of the goals that we're very aligned on I think is looking at the next 10 million developers rather than the next billion users right you got to build it first you got to focus on that developer ecosystem the users will come and I think we're at Google thinking about it very similarly as Aptos is and so you know that said from a strategic partnership perspective um you know this is the first time that we're kind of announcing this and glad to share it here here live in London but we're working on a couple different things together and we'll be focusing really on two areas one is going to be around developer tooling and really making the developer ecosystem evolve together with us and another thing is going to be all around actually building and engaging with the developer community so I'll start with the tooling aspect and one of the two things that we're pretty psyched about is one you know I mentioned that we've been involved with Aptos since devnet and testnet since mainnet launch we were a state baked block producing validator and are participating in the network today and will continue to do so which is which is really exciting for multiple reasons Juan us participating in the network but two is I think learning and taking those learnings to make Google Cloud the best place to Run Aptos nodes to build decentralized applications to support the ecosystem from an epic infrastructure perspective so so that that's really exciting for us and I think for the Aptos Community the second thing is um kind of goes back to the core mission of Google right Google's mission is organize the information organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful web3 blockchain data is complex like that is no secret and I think that's a problem that a lot of folks are trying to solve and we want to help solve that so one of the things that we'll be doing is we'll be indexing the entire Aptos chain and exposing it via our tool called bigquery which is our SQL based Warehouse so the community can build easier understand blockchain Data Drive insights from it and really use it in sort of an easy consumable consumable way yeah and and I mean it's been amazing to see you guys uh ramp up so quickly on on our infrastructure and also show us what's exciting for you guys and what really good principles should look like when you're building this infrastructure and our communities really needed this right launching a network is a very difficult thing to do um being part of our validator program throughout those test Nets was invaluable not only for us but for our entire Community as we're going through those test Nets you know there were so many different entrepreneurs and Builders within our ecosystem there's over 200 projects that are you know some in market and some coming live very soon uh that got to benefit from the work that you guys were doing on the back end right they had a very seamless uh launch uh at day one we've had one of the most robust ecosystem launches for projects instead of just going out there by ourselves and you know a lot of that credit goes to um you know how easy Google made it um when it comes to you know bigquery and I love the the Google uh you know Vision uh here and the mission it's uh again just like looking at the market it doesn't um it doesn't take a genius to figure out we need to understand the information that is made that exists today and how that information can be organized how it can be synthesized and how it can make sense to the developer and to the user transparency has become extremely important in this world and web3 operates with that at its ethos and with things like bigquery we can bring that transparency to another level extrapolating those insights are really going to help not only web 3 Builders really move fast but also a lot of the web 2 folks you know large media and entertainment companies that we're speaking with sports franchises that were having conversations with speaking with social companies and gaming companies they're going to need they're going to want to understand what's happening on the network and we saw the panel before us talk about how important that level of granular information is important and bigquery is going to be a really important factor for Aptos and the Aptos community so we're super uh super excited to see it come to come to life yeah likewise absolutely so let's pivot a little bit to then the building aspect right which is what kind of the first uh the tooling then goes into building and I think from a building perspective there's a few key initiatives that we're pretty excited about one of them is the first Google and Aptos hackathon that we'll put on next year in 2023 um so we'll obviously have the respective developer communities between Aptos and Google participate but I think what's unique and interesting about it is we'll be inviting Aptos and Google Engineers to hack together with the community which I which I think is pretty unique and should really be interesting to kind of see those Worlds Collide and to projects that we'll be interested in using both Google tooling as well as Aptos tooling to produce something really cool um I I think that will just that'll just be a a really fun thing that we can do next year and then obviously I don't know how many of you guys have joined any of our events this year throughout you know consensus and Bitcoin Miami and nft NYC but we'll definitely be continuing our our quote-unquote world tour and engaging with the community together uh so definitely keep an eye out for that and and we really hope to see you there um I mean that's that's big stuff right like uh I don't know if Collide is the right word I think of like neutrons colliding in a an accelerator quite literally um but you know it this is that moment where web2 and web3 are starting to come together in meaningful ways and we're seeing that partnership uh I mean you guys had that coinbase partnership you announced where you can pay with crypto right that's really cool um our community loves to pay with crypto we want to pay uh in uh you know what we think is social currency that's valuable um across developer applications right um tokens are a new asset class and we've you know we think they bring a lot of value and it's amazing to see you know Google recognize that and meet developers where they are um and obviously that aligns nicely with our ethos and you know when I guess atoms or neutrons Collide I think there's going to be some really cool Sparks that fly uh we're excited to see um you know what code building was going to look like um this is going to be yeah like like you said I think the first time a web 2 and a web 3 company has come together in such a meaningful way um when I think about you know all the user experience that's required for mainstream adoption I mean that sits at the core of so many of your products um I mean coming here I had to figure out how to navigate a boat and you know I used Google Maps and it was seamless right um and I want that same experience whether I'm checking out in an application with you know my identity I want that same experience when I'm taking my identity to engage in different platforms or taking my assets with me and uh you know a game potentially or other metaverse venues um and having Google to power that user experience or be complementary Partners is going to be really important for us um and I think you know seeing you guys build is fun but I love that you are leaning into the web through ethos and building with our community um we might come in and break a few things so you know be cautious uh but but yeah having an accelerator program that really supports our the growth and putting real dollars Behind these uh these Builders is what we need again more than ever right we need real partners that understand Building Systems and building applications that scale for billions of users versus going out and chasing a quick D5 buck and that's what we're most excited about this is the best time to focus back on that user experience and remind ourselves about the communities that have been building for for years into space and having that accelerator program and that support from Aptos and Google is going to be really valuable for them it's going to mean the world to them and I can't wait to open up my Twitter and see uh see how many people are you know reaching out for that program already um so I'm really a lot of things you'll see on Twitter if you open it up right now that went on airplane mode no I think that's exactly right and and that's that's a great point you made on the crypto payments aspect like um you know it's it's an example of how Google's leaning in and and the fact that um you know Aptos will be running some of the internal operations and infrastructure on Google and that and we'll be collaborating to make uh Google Cloud the best place to Run Aptos nodes as well as the centralized applications the fact that for all of those Services you'll be able to pay in crypto as a user as a developer as an ecosystem player I I think is you know it just shows kind of evolution of the space and we're really excited about that but I think you hit on on the last point which which we can unpack just a little bit before we run out of time here which is the accelerator program right and so we're we're really excited to announce that we'll be investing into Aptos ecosystem projects with uh partnership with Aptos Foundation via apt as well as gcp credits to to Really bolster the development of that ecosystem and invest in projects that want to build and I think again this this ties it all back together with the fact that there's a lot of stuff happening right now um it's you know it's tough to kind of watch the market but if we focus on building if we if we you know turn to turn our heads down and build and produce something cool and unique for the space we will see those results I think Bill over tenfold over the coming years couldn't agree more um and you know just putting I love our partnership and I'm super excited about it um I'm more excited about the Aptos community and the web through Community here at large right like it's it's it just feels so weird to talk about something so exciting in a moment where you know there's so much chatter going on and so much Market volatility um and you know I can't help it but be you know the same human that has sat in those seats many many years ago at many conferences um and so again this the most exciting thing about this is that we are building and we are building with principles that we want the web 3 world to focus on because these are the right principles that are going to lead to the best outcomes for you know not only end users but better societies and Technology sits at the core of those societies we've seen you know web 2 platforms benefit immensely and it's unbelievable to see a platform and and a company like Google take a deep look inside and say you know here's the the web 2 world that we lived in but there's this amazing thing that's happening in web3 and we want to be a part of that and it takes a lot of courage to disrupt from within so you know congrats to you guys and um amazing to see that that level of disruption really lead into the societal impact that you can potentially have 100 um look very thankful for our partnership you guys have been absolutely awesome what a team thankful for the community that's here and everyone that's you know London today thanks for listening hope you guys uh enjoyed and if we can help in any way happy to connect after and uh we'll be around so thanks again everyone thank you guys [Applause]