Written by: IOSG Ventures
Foreword
In the realm of human collaboration, we are witnessing an extraordinary transformation. While the world's attention remains focused on traditional tech hubs, a new model is emerging that may fundamentally change how we collaboratively build our future. This model is 'pop-up cities' — temporary yet purposeful communities. These cities demonstrate that innovation is not limited to geography but is catalyzed by the right people gathering at the right time in the right environment.
1. Beyond Traditional Models: The Next Evolution
Understanding how pop-up cities transcend existing models of innovation is the first step towards grasping this concept. As Vitalik stated in 'Why I Created Zuzalu':
'We already have hacker houses that can exist for months or even years, but typically accommodate only ten to twenty people. We also have some large conferences that can host thousands, but each conference only lasts a week. This is enough for people to meet by chance, but not enough to build deep connections.'
Pop-up cities represent a leap forward — 'taking a step in two directions at once', creating spaces that can accommodate hundreds of people and last for months. This is not merely a larger version of a hacker house or an extended conference event. Vitalik describes it as a 'sweet spot' — ambitious and unique enough to offer fresh insights, yet sufficiently lightweight for logistical management.
In recent years, I have been deeply involved in the crypto ecosystem, experiencing the unique challenges and opportunities of the industry's remote culture firsthand. As a venture capitalist, I have witnessed countless teams building revolutionary technologies in a decentralized manner across different time zones and continents. This distributed approach has brought unprecedented freedom, but it also comes with an implicit cost — I gradually realized that it is the lack of genuine human connections that brings the 'magic'.
I still vividly remember my first experience at a crypto conference. After months of Zoom meetings and Telegram chats, suddenly seeing the real faces behind those familiar usernames was exhilarating. They were not just participants of the conference — they were developers whose code I had reviewed, founders of projects I had invested in, and thought leaders whose threads I had followed. In the conversations and impromptu whiteboard discussions in those hallways, ideas that had been brewing in isolated digital spaces suddenly came to life through face-to-face collaboration.
2. The First Experiment: From Network States to Zuzalu
2.1 The Vision of Network States
The theoretical foundation of these communities stems from Balaji Srinivasan's revolutionary concept of 'Network States' — a vision of digital communities unified by shared values that can translate into physical spaces. This implies a profound future: the way humans organize may no longer be constrained by arbitrary geographical boundaries, but shaped by shared goals and visions.
Source: Balaji Srinivasan's vision of network states
What makes the crypto community an ideal pioneer of this new model? Unlike the traditional tech industry, which tends to concentrate on a single center, the crypto space has always embodied a different spirit. Ethereum's developer teams are spread across the globe, from Switzerland to Singapore, from Berlin to Romania. This natural resistance to centralization, coupled with years of rich experience in global coordination, lays a perfect foundation for this new endeavor.
2.2 Zuzalu: From Theory to Reality
In early 2023, this vision became a reality in Montenegro with a whimsically meaningless name 'Zuzalu'. Within two months, Lustica Bay became home to 200 residents — a carefully selected group of Ethereum developers, longevity researchers, and governance experts. This is not just a gathering, but a living laboratory where new ideas can be tested, improved, and implemented in real-time.
Source: Peter Young - Lustica Bay, Montenegro
Its impact is direct and significant. For example, Zupass — a prototype identity system initially developed by the 0xPARC team. Through constant interaction with users and rapid iteration, a tool that might have taken months to develop in a traditional environment evolved into a practical tool within weeks, and is now widely used in multiple pop-up communities.
3. The Vision of Submergence: From Zuzalu to Chiang Mai
3.1 Open Borders
Subsequently, this movement further evolved in the uniquely decentralized manner of the crypto space. In December 2023, Vitalik proposed 'reopening the frontier' and supported this vision with two rounds of Gitcoin funding totaling 500 ETH. The core objective is very clear: to remove any central authority and empower anyone who identifies with this mission to create their own 'Zu Village'.
This new approach clearly discards:
A core long-term event
The clear concept of 'Zuzalu Citizens' or 'Zuzalu Residents'
The binding of the name 'Zuzalu' to a specific physical event
Instead, it actively encourages existing community members and newcomers to host their own pop-up cities, even if they occur at the same time and in close proximity.
3.2 Chiang Mai: The Realization of the Vision
In October 2024, Chiang Mai, Thailand witnessed the simultaneous emergence of multiple pop-up cities, creating an unprecedented interconnected community ecosystem. Notably, many of these projects can be traced back to the original Zuzalu experiment: Edge City Lanna, ShanhaiWoo, The Mu, MEGAZu, HER DAO, Invisible Garden, Lovepunks, Funding the Commons, and other emerging communities. Each community brings a unique perspective while retaining the unique collaborative atmosphere of the Zuzalu spirit.
As a venture capitalist at IOSG Ventures, we are honored to sponsor The Mu, and I have had the opportunity to witness this vibrant ecosystem firsthand. The Social Layer platform has become our shared digital 'downtown', showcasing the incredible range of activities across all communities. Every day, activities range from tech demo days (where builders showcase their latest projects) to rock climbing classes, Muay Thai training, meditation workshops, leisurely trips exploring Thai cultural sites, community dinners, and social gatherings.
What makes this experiment truly special is that each community actively encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration. Everyone is welcomed to participate in activities across various communities — not only is this allowed, but it is also enthusiastically celebrated. The weekly Zuzalu community assembly has become a core activity where representatives from each pop-up city share updates, and community members can connect across projects and interests. These converging moments showcase how, when traditional limitations of time and space are removed, ideas flow freely, relationships deepen, and innovation accelerates in ways that traditional methods cannot achieve.
4. The New Silicon Valley Model
What makes pop-up cities special is that they redefine the essence of innovation hubs. Traditional tech hubs like Silicon Valley succeed by clustering talent in one location, but their limitations are becoming increasingly apparent: exorbitant living costs exclude diverse perspectives, visa restrictions shut out global talent, and even more destructively, a converging culture may stifle true innovation.
Pop-up cities provide entirely different options. They recreate the density of talent and interaction that Silicon Valley relies on, but for the global digital age.
In pop-up cities, developers can experiment with collaborative models through short-term projects before formal partnerships, teams can test compatibility, and ideas can be validated in real-time by a diverse global community.
When I attended both Devcon and The Mu, this contrast was particularly striking. While Devcon was filled with energy and possibilities, its brief duration meant that many potential connections might never truly develop. You might have an exciting conversation about zero-knowledge proofs with someone in a café, exchange contact information, and promise to follow up — but once everyone returns to their respective time zones, that momentum often dissipates.
Pop-up cities address this issue by providing the 'relational infrastructure' necessary for true collaboration — the duration and shared context required. They find a middle ground between the brief interactions of conferences and the long-term commitments of traditional tech centers. This is precisely the missing piece in our industry's remote-first model: enabling spontaneous, unstructured collaboration that leads to breakthrough innovations.
As part of IOSG Ventures, we support this vision because we see the fundamental potential for innovation in pop-up cities. The success of multiple coexisting communities in Chiang Mai demonstrates that this model is transformative — it combines the best features of Silicon Valley's innovation density with the global dynamic nature of the crypto ecosystem.
5. The Committed Future
In a discussion in Chiang Mai titled 'The Commitment of Pop-Up Cities', Vitalik painted an engaging vision of the future: specialized communities will emerge to tackle specific challenges, from biotech hubs to self-sufficient infrastructure experiments. This specialization, combined with the global flexibility of pop-up cities, reveals their profound significance.
Reflecting on the various crypto conferences, hacker houses, and now pop-up cities I have attended, I deeply feel that this movement is not merely an evolution of working methods, but a transformation in how we build community in an increasingly digital world. The remote-first nature of the crypto industry has brought us unprecedented freedom, but it has also made us recognize the irreplaceable value of face-to-face connections. Pop-up cities not only address issues of productivity or innovation — they more profoundly fulfill our sense of belonging and purpose in this globally distributed industry.
Perhaps the future will not appear in a single 'Silicon Valley', but rather in a series of purpose-driven communities that emerge on demand, surfacing wherever innovation is needed. In fact, such iterations are already taking shape — for example, ZuThailand will be held in Pattaya from November to December 2024, and we at IOSG Ventures are proud to participate in supporting it. These communities will not just be temporary gatherings — as Janine from Edge City puts it, they are 'social incubators' where we can test and develop new models for education, healthcare, and human development.
Looking ahead, I believe we are just beginning to scratch the surface of possibilities. Each new pop-up city teaches us valuable lessons about community building, governance, and collaboration. Through these experiments, we are witnessing the early stages of what may be the most significant transformation in human collaboration since the Industrial Revolution. The potential is evident: pop-up cities are not only changing the locations where innovation occurs — they are fundamentally reshaping how we collaboratively build our future.