Animoca Brands Poaches Tencent Insurance Arm’s CEO Alan Lau

Alan Lau, the CEO of Tencent’s insurance company WeSure, has formally accepted the position of chief business officer of the blockchain and gaming startup Animoca Brands in Hong Kong, as written on Lau’s LinkedIn page. According to Chinese media on Monday, Lau will supervise Animoca Brands’ portfolio companies, mergers, acquisitions, and outside alliances. A report stated that Alan left Tencent on July 15. After working for McKinsey & Co. for more than 19 years and becoming a senior partner, Lau first joined Tencent in 2016. Lau oversaw the business operations for internet insurance at Tencent, including hiring staff, obtaining licenses, and growing the company internationally. According to Crunchbase data, Animoca Brands has secured US$675.3 million in investment across 19 rounds. The company is valued at $5.9 billion after its most recent fundraising of US$75 million. Tencent XR Unit To Develop ‘Benchmark’ VR Products The senior vice president of Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG), Steven Ma, stated that the gaming branch of the Chinese digital giant Tencent has established an extended reality (XR) section. Over the next four to five years, Tencent will create “benchmark” goods for virtual reality (VR) experiences, including software, game content, operating systems, software development kits, and hardware prototypes. According to Chinese gaming media Jinghe, IEG’s NExT Studios, known for its non-commercial games like “Ni...