The focus is no longer just AI-generated worlds, but how those worlds become structured digital products
Updated
February 20, 2026 6:50 PM
The inside of a pair of HTC VR goggles. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
As AI tools improve, creating 3D content is becoming faster and easier. However, building that content into interactive experiences still requires time, structure and technical work. That difference between generation and execution is where HTC VIVERSE and World Labs are focusing their new collaboration.
HTC VIVERSE is a 3D content platform developed by HTC. It provides creators with tools to build, refine and publish interactive virtual environments. Meanwhile, World Labs is an AI startup founded by researcher Fei-Fei Li and a team of machine learning specialists. The company recently introduced Marble, a tool that generates full 3D environments from simple text, image or video prompts.
While Marble can quickly create a digital world, that world on its own is not yet a finished experience. It still needs structure, navigation and interaction. This is where VIVERSE fits in. By combining Marble’s world generation with VIVERSE’s building tools, creators can move from an AI-generated scene to a usable, interactive product.
In practice, the workflow works in two steps. First, Marble produces the base 3D environment. Then, creators bring that environment into VIVERSE, where they add game mechanics, scenes and interactive elements. In this model, AI handles the early visual creation, while the human creator defines how users explore and interact with the world.
To demonstrate this process, the companies developed three example projects. Whiskerhill turns a Marble-generated world into a simple quest-based experience. Whiskerport connects multiple AI-generated scenes into a multi-level environment that users navigate through portals. Clockwork Conspiracy, built by VIVERSE, uses Marble’s generation system to create a more structured, multi-scene game. These projects are not just demos. They serve as proof that AI-generated worlds can evolve beyond static visuals and become interactive environments.
This matters because generative AI is often judged by how quickly it produces content. However, speed alone does not create usable products. Digital experiences still require sequencing, design decisions and user interaction. As a result, the real challenge is not generation, but integration — connecting AI output to tools that make it functional.
Seen in this context, the collaboration is less about a single product and more about workflow. VIVERSE provides a system that allows AI-generated environments to be edited and structured. World Labs provides the engine that creates those environments in the first place. Together, they are testing whether AI can fit directly into a full production pipeline rather than remain a standalone tool.
Ultimately, the collaboration reflects a broader change in creative technology. AI is no longer only producing isolated assets. It is beginning to plug into the larger process of building complete experiences. The key question is no longer how quickly a world can be generated, but how easily that world can be turned into something people can actually use and explore.
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Inside Mercuryo’s Visa Partnership
Updated
February 10, 2026 11:18 PM
Close up of Visa credit cards. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Mercuryo is a fintech startup that builds the infrastructure to enable money to move seamlessly between crypto and traditional banking systems. In simple terms, it works on the problem of turning digital assets into usable cash.
As more people hold crypto through wallets and exchanges, one practical issue keeps arising: how do you actually withdraw that money and use it in the real world? For many users, converting tokens into local currency is still slow, confusing or expensive. That gap between “owning” crypto and being able to spend it is where Mercuryo operates.
The company’s latest step forward is a partnership with Visa to improve what is known as “off-ramping” — the process of converting crypto into fiat currency like dollars or euros. Until now, this has often been slow, expensive and confusing for users. Mercuryo is using Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payments system, to make that process faster and more direct.
With this integration, users can convert their digital tokens into local currency and send the money straight to a Visa debit or credit card. The transaction happens through systems that already power global card payments, which means the money can arrive in near real time instead of days later.
Technically, this connects two very different worlds. On one side is blockchain-based crypto, which moves value on decentralised networks. On the other side is the traditional payment system, which runs on banks, cards and regulated rails. Mercuryo’s platform sits between the two and handles the conversion and movement of funds.
Instead of users leaving their wallet or exchange to cash out, Mercuryo allows the conversion to happen inside the apps and platforms they already use. The user does not need to understand the plumbing behind it. They just see that crypto becomes spendable money on their card.
This matters because access is what makes any financial system usable. If people cannot easily move their money, they treat it as locked or risky. Faster off-ramps make digital assets more practical, not just speculative.
Mercuryo’s work is not about creating new tokens or trading tools. It is about building the pipes that let money move smoothly between Web3 and the traditional financial world. The Visa partnership strengthens those pipes by using a global, trusted payments network that already works at scale.
Visa also framed the partnership as a bridge between systems. Anastasia Serikova, Head of Visa Direct, Europe, said: "By leveraging Visa Direct's capabilities, Mercuryo is not only making converting to fiat faster, simpler and more accessible than ever—it's building bridges between the crypto space and the traditional financial system. This integration empowers users to seamlessly convert digital assets into fiat in near real time, creating a more connected and convenient payment experience".
Over time, this kind of infrastructure is what determines whether crypto remains niche or becomes part of everyday finance. Not through headlines, but through systems that quietly reduce friction.
Mercuryo’s direction is clear: make digital assets easier to use, easier to exit and easier to connect to the money systems people already rely on.