Metaverse OG. Developer. Entrepreneur. Author. Musician, composer, producer, playwright.
Tony Parisi is a Metaverse and virtual reality pioneer, inventor, entrepreneur, author and musician. He has co-created several international 3D graphics standards and authored several books on 3D and virtual reality programming, and has served as an executive in several technology startups and large companies.
Tony is the co-creator of the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), the original international standard for 3D graphics on the internet. He was a significant contributor to the follow-up standard, X3D, in the early 2000’s. In 2011, Tony co-authored the Graphics Language Transmission Format (glTF), which is the culmination of his efforts to bring a standardized content format for 3D to the web. glTF is now an international standard supported by all major tools and applications and used by millions daily.
Tony is the author of O’Reilly Media’s foundational books on 3D graphics and VR, Learning Virtual Reality (2015), Programming 3D Applications in HTML5 and WebGL (2014), and WebGL Up and Running (2012). One of the leading spokespeople for the immersive industry, Tony has given speeches in multiple countries about industry trends and innovation in virtual, augmented and mixed reality. He was named in Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality in 2019 and 2020. In 2021 Tony published The Seven Rules of the Metaverse, read by thousands worldwide and considered an authoritative essay on the intent and design goals for the next generation of the Internet.
Tony most recently served as Chief Product Officer at Lamina1, a layer 1 blockchain for the Metaverse co-founded by author and Metaverse visionary Neal Stephenson. Prior to that, Tony was Head of VR/AR and Head of XR Ads and E-Commerce at Unity for six years, where he oversaw strategy and product for the company’s industry verticals, brand advertising and e-commerce solutions. During his time at Unity he co-authored and was granted a patent for progressive enhancement of in-app augmented reality advertising.
Tony is also a musician, composer, producer and playwright, and is currently focused on his artistic pursuits full time, including several music projects. In 2023 Tony co-founded Metatron Studio, a content studio creating art, music and interactive projects for the Metaverse. In that same year Tony released the cast recording for Judgment Day, his full-length original musical, along with a collection of NFTs – the first-ever musical theater on the blockchain. The show is now in active development. Tony’s newest album, The Great Resignation, has been released on all major streaming platforms. Tony’s first music NFT collection, Cradle to Grave, was released in 2023 to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting and quickly sold out.