# Yossi Hasson

> Yossi Hasson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Metaversal, a Web3-native merchant bank specializing in NFT curation and digital IP, and a Venture Partner at 2048 Ventures. A serial entrepreneur who started his first company at 17, Yossi co-founded SYNAQ (acquired by Dimension Data), WeThinkCode_ (Africa's largest coding academy), and served as Managing Director of Techstars Africa. With 20+ years in tech, he's invested in over 60 startups and crypto protocols, acquired 2,000+ NFTs across 250+ projects, and raised $50M for Metaversal. A Stanford GSB graduate, he splits his time between New York and Miami, hosting podcasts and lecturing on entrepreneurship while building at the intersection of AI, Web3, and digital culture.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Metaversal, Venture Partner at 2048 Ventures
- **Organizations:** Metaversal, 2048 Ventures, Techstars, WeThinkCode_, SYNAQ, Omega Runner, Medallion Network, OnChain Capital
- **From:** South Africa
- **Nationality:** South African
- **Education:** Endeavor Leadership Programme (Organizational Leadership), Stanford University Graduate School of Business, MBA, University of Pretoria
- **Known for:** Co-founded SYNAQ which became the largest email services provider in Sub-Saharan Africa with 1M+ users, Successfully exited SYNAQ to Dimension Data in 2011, Named Top 20 Tech Start-up in Africa by Forbes Magazine (SYNAQ)

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Started first company Matric2000.co.za at age 17 while in high school
- **2002** — Co-Founded SYNAQ at age 21, an open source cloud email security company
- **2011** — SYNAQ acquired by Dimension Data, named Top 20 Tech Start-up in Africa by Forbes
- **2012** — Attended Stanford Graduate School of Business Endeavor Leadership Programme
- **2015** — Co-founded WeThinkCode_, a non-profit tech talent incubator in South Africa
- **2017-2020** — Managing Director of Techstars Africa and Techstars Blockchain
- **2020** — Joined 2048 Ventures as Venture Partner
- **2021** — Co-Founded Metaversal, began acquiring NFT portfolio (2,000+ NFTs across 250+ projects)
- **2021** — Announced $50M Series A for Metaversal co-led by CoinFund and Foxhaven Asset Management
- **2022-2026** — Continued building Metaversal, co-founded Omega Runner, host of Goats and the Metaverse podcast

## Achievements

- Co-founded SYNAQ which became the largest email services provider in Sub-Saharan Africa with 1M+ users
- Successfully exited SYNAQ to Dimension Data in 2011
- Named Top 20 Tech Start-up in Africa by Forbes Magazine (SYNAQ)
- Co-founded WeThinkCode_ with goal of training 100,000 African programmers
- Served as Managing Director of Techstars Africa and Techstars Blockchain
- Invested in 60+ startups and crypto protocols
- Raised $50M Series A for Metaversal at $155.71M valuation
- Acquired 2,000+ NFTs across 250+ projects since 2021
- Co-founder of Omega Runner, a Web3 story universe with Hollywood producers
- Lectures on Entrepreneurship at Gordon Institute of Business Science

## Latest updates

- **2026** — Continuing to build Metaversal as a modern merchant bank specializing in digital assets and AI/Web3 technologies
- **2025** — Active as Venture Partner at 2048 Ventures, focusing on early-stage investments in crypto, blockchain, fintech, and frontier tech
- **2024** — Publishing content on AI productivity and how Metaversal uses AI to accelerate building
- **2022-2023** — Actively engaged in NFT ecosystem, attending ApeFest and other major Web3 events

## Links

- Website: https://yossihasson.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yossi-hasson/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/yossihasson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instayossi/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/yossi-hasson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-02