The global blockchain market size is expected to grow from $27.84 billion in 2024 to $825.93 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 52.8%. This rapid expansion is being driven by the growing demand for decentralized solutions, enhanced security protocols, and transaction transparency.
These aspects position blockchain as a key force in reshaping the future of global business and technology. Undoubtedly, this sector has great potential for rapid growth.
All about MAI Labs’ Sutradhar
In a recent conversation with Varuni Trivedi of The Coin Republic on the podcast “Money and Me,” Tapan Sangal, founder and CEO of MAI Labs, discussed the explosive potential of the blockchain industry. He also reflected on his remarkable journey over the past 10 years at the helm of the company.
Question: Can you tell us a little about your journey and key experiences that led you to founding MAI Labs?
I would like to describe myself as a “stradar” rather than a “founder” of MAI Labs. The main reason for ‘Sutradhar’ is because I love uniting people.
Sangal, who has a background in law and real estate, prefers to call himself the ‘Sutradhar’ of MAI Labs, as he has brought together experts from various fields to set up MAI Labs. Sangal defines the Sanskrit word “sutradhar” as someone who brings everything together.
Sanghar pointed out that during his time as a legal consultant to a real estate company, there was a lack of trust in the industry.
“I observed this up close when I was working as a real estate consultant. Therefore, it is important to introduce an element of ‘trust’ in the real estate industry, especially in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) segments. I felt the need to do this while struggling with this.
This is where blockchain can be an effective solution. Sangar was interested in how blockchain could introduce an “element of trust” to places where it was missing. So, in 2014, I wrote my first article in which I described a technology that could be a hidden blessing and could bring an element of transparency and immutability.
Founded in 2015, MAI Labs currently has locations in the United States, India, Mauritius, Singapore, and Dubai. MAI Labs leads a portfolio of ventures including MayaaVerse and STOEX, among others, all dedicated to democratizing access and delivering creative and immersive solutions.
Supporting blockchain growth
Question: Can you tell us a little more about how MAI Labs’ unique technology can provide an element of trust?
MAI Labs’ underlying Kalp blockchain is inspired by the Hyperledger blockchain. Tapan describes Kalp as “regulated by design” and emphasizes that there is a strong focus on ensuring that projects are fully compliant. It is specially designed to meet the needs of businesses, startups and developers and is different in that it is regulation friendly.
“We donated it (the Kalp blockchain) to a US-based non-profit company called the Kalp Decentra Foundation. And Kalp, as a blockchain, will be open source, free for people to develop, and with permission. We are planning it as a DPI or digital public infrastructure.”
Question: Speaking of trust, what do you think about the regulatory aspects of blockchain and the crypto space?
Regulation is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word regulation in the cryptocurrency industry. In fact, many are depressed by the constant series of courtroom back-and-forths, huge fines, and millions of dollars of investor money being thrown down the drain. However, in my opinion, regulation itself is not such a bad thing.
“From day one, we were very convinced that we wanted to do business on this side of the law, not on the other side of the law…For regulated blockchain purposes, all laws are already in place. We need special laws to regulate this. All you have to do is absorb and consider all these laws to create your own…”
MAI Labs avoids regulatory issues by creating benchmarks that are a “total” of regulations from jurisdictions such as Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United States.
With the tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA), the revenue generated from these assets is not controlled by the company. These token holders will be able to access their accounts via the MAI Labs DAO in a manner that does not violate securities laws.
The protocol also features self-modifying (thanks to Oracle) smart contracts that adjust parameters based on regulatory changes.
Powering Blockchain: Kalp Studio and STOEX
Question: I recently launched Kalp Studio and STOEX. Can you tell us more about these two?
Kalp Studio, a product of Kalp Digital, is a one-stop blockchain development infrastructure. (dApps), future-proof features, third-party integrations and advanced customization capabilities, the best UI/UX, and a complete support ecosystem to develop any blockchain. We are prepared. Seamlessly accelerate the development of even the most innovative, scalable, and complex blockchain solutions.
STOEX (or SMART Token Exchange) is a regulated tokenized real-world asset exchange that allows users to invest in real-world assets through tokens. Built on the Kalp cross-chain infrastructure, STOEX promises a compliance-first approach to make investing in these niche asset classes more accessible and profitable for individual investors and professional firms at large. I will.
Question: We’ve been seeing an influx of immersive technology and the Metaverse lately. What do you think about it?
There is a huge opportunity in the immersive technology space, which is predicted to generate up to $5 trillion by 2030 across consumer and enterprise applications. There is already a huge influx of investment and it is poised to revolutionize both the commercial and personal spheres and have a profound impact on our lives.
Seeing this opportunity, we founded MAI Labs, a deep tech company dedicated to democratizing and empowering users around the world. MAI Labs has invested heavily in immersive technology.
The challenge faced by many budding developers and companies is that they never see the light of day due to the long journey from inception to launch.
MAI Labs uses immersive technology to present designs and initial concepts to would-be consumers, and then the companies involved can get feedback before investing in the product.
MAI Labs recently raised about $7.5 million in funding and is looking to raise another $50 million for “immersive technology,” including wearables and Metaverse applications. “Of the 50 million people we are targeting, almost 30% will be spent on R&D. We are focused on R&D…almost 40% will be spent on marketing…the rest is spent on internal administration.
When we heard the word “metaverse,” it didn’t take long for it to become a buzzword. However, most technology products introduced to date have lacked a realistic experience. MAI Labs’ “MayaaVerse” is a photorealistic metaverse featuring extremely high FPS (frames per second) speeds and accurate scaling.
What does the future hold for MAI Labs?
Question: What does the future hold for MAI Labs?
In the future, we plan to leverage several emerging technologies that have the potential to become big-ticket items in the next five years. These include sensory blockchain applications that receive the senses of touch, sight, smell, and even taste.
At the same time, AI is also playing a big role, so we are definitely trying to tame it through blockchain. Tapan said he feels AI should be managed by smart contracts. But AI needs to be regulated.
AI is a master of reinvention, so anything created by humans can be made better by AI. Nevertheless, there will come a time when human creativity will be celebrated in comparison to AI, as there are certain aspects of human intelligence that cannot be replicated by AI.
