These cities prove that innovation is not limited to location, but is catalyzed by the right people coming together at the right time in the right environment.
Written by: IOSG Ventures
Preface
We are witnessing an extraordinary transformation in the world of human collaboration. While the world’s eyes remain on traditional tech hubs, a new model is emerging that could fundamentally change how we build the future together. That model is “pop-up cities”—transient but purposeful communities. These cities prove that innovation is not limited to location, but is catalyzed by the right people coming together at the right time in the right environment.
1. Beyond Traditional Models: The Next Evolution
Understanding how pop-up cities transcend existing innovation models is the first step towards grasping this concept. As Vitalik stated in (Why I Created Zuzalu):
'We already have hacker houses, which can exist for months or even years, but usually only accommodate ten to twenty people. We also have large conferences, which can host thousands of people but only last for 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 steps in two directions at once,' creating spaces that can accommodate hundreds of people and last for months. This is not merely an expanded hacker house or an extended conference event. Vitalik described it as a 'sweet spot'—ambitious and unique enough to provide fresh insights while being light enough for logistical management.
In the past few years, I have been deeply involved in the crypto ecosystem, experiencing the unique challenges and opportunities of the remote culture in this industry. As a venture capitalist, I have witnessed countless teams building revolutionary technologies across different time zones and continents in a decentralized manner. This distributed approach brings unprecedented freedom, but it also comes with an implicit cost—I have gradually realized that it is the 'magic' brought about by the lack of genuine interpersonal connections.
I still vividly remember my first experience attending a crypto conference. After months of Zoom meetings and Telegram chats, suddenly seeing the real faces behind those familiar usernames was incredibly exciting. They were not just participants in the conference—they were developers whose code I had reviewed, founders of projects I had invested in, and thought leaders whose lines of reasoning I had followed. In those hallway conversations and impromptu whiteboard discussions, 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 Vision of Network States
The theoretical foundation of these communities comes from Balaji Srinivasan's revolutionary concept of 'Network States'—a vision where digitally unified communities through shared values can transform into physical spaces. This suggests a profound future: the way humans organize may no longer be constrained by arbitrary geographic boundaries, but shaped by shared goals and visions.
Source: Balaji Srinivasan's Vision of Network States
What makes the crypto community an ideal pioneer for 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 development teams are spread across the globe, from Switzerland to Singapore, from Berlin to Romania. This natural resistance to centralization, combined 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 was not just a gathering; it was a living laboratory where new ideas could be tested, refined, 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 iterations, a tool that might have taken months to develop in a traditional environment evolved into a practical tool in just a few weeks and is now widely used in multiple pop-up communities.
3. The Downward Vision: From Zuzalu to Chiang Mai
3.1 Open Borders
Subsequently, this movement further evolved in a decentralized manner unique to the crypto space. In December 2023, Vitalik proposed 'reopening the frontier' and supported this vision through two rounds of Gitcoin funding totaling 500 ETH. Its core objective is crystal clear: remove any central authority and empower anyone who identifies with this mission to create their own 'Zu Village.'
This new approach explicitly discards:
A core long-term event
The clear concept of 'Zuzalu Citizen' or 'Zuzalu Resident'
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 at the same time and in close proximity.
3.2 Chiang Mai: The Realization of 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 trace their roots 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 distinctive collaborative atmosphere inherent in the spirit of Zuzalu.
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 'city center,' showcasing the incredible range of activities across all communities. Daily events range from tech demo days (where builders showcase their latest projects), climbing courses, Muay Thai training, meditation workshops, leisure trips exploring Thai cultural sites, to community dinners and social gatherings.
What makes this experiment truly special is that every community actively encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration. Everyone is welcome to participate in activities across various communities—this is not only allowed but is celebrated enthusiastically. The weekly Zuzalu community meeting has become a core activity where representatives from each pop-up city share updates, and community members can connect across projects and interests. These moments of convergence showcase how, when traditional constraints 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 sets pop-up cities apart is that they redefine the essence of innovation hubs. Traditional tech centers like Silicon Valley succeed by gathering talent in one place, but their limitations are becoming increasingly apparent: exorbitant living costs exclude diverse perspectives, visa restrictions shut out global talent, and, more destructively, the increasingly convergent culture may stifle true innovation.
Pop-up cities offer a completely different option. They recreate the density of talent and interactions that Silicon Valley relies on, but oriented towards the global digital age.
In pop-up cities, developers can experiment with collaborative models through short-term projects before formal cooperation; teams can test compatibility, and ideas can receive validation from a diverse global community in real time.
This contrast was particularly stark while I attended both Devcon and The Mu. While Devcon was filled with energy and possibilities, its brief time span meant that many potential connections might never truly develop. You might have an amazing conversation about zero-knowledge proofs 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 'relationship infrastructure'—the duration and shared context required for genuine collaboration. They find a middle ground between the fleeting interactions of conferences and the long-term commitments of traditional tech hubs. This is the missing piece in our industry's remote-first model: enabling spontaneous, unstructured collaboration that leads to breakthrough innovations.
As a member of IOSG Ventures, we support this vision because we see the fundamental potential for innovation within pop-up cities. The success of multiple concurrent communities in Chiang Mai demonstrates that this model is transformative—it combines the best characteristics of Silicon Valley's density of innovation with the global dynamic nature of the crypto ecosystem.
5. The Future of Commitment
During a discussion in Chiang Mai titled 'The Commitment of Pop-Up Cities,' Vitalik painted a compelling 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 participated in, I feel deeply that this movement is not just an evolution of how we work, but a transformation in how we build community in an increasingly digital world. The remote-first nature of the crypto industry has given us unprecedented freedom, but it has also made us recognize the irreplaceable value of face-to-face connections. Pop-up cities address not only productivity or innovation issues—they more profoundly meet our sense of belonging and purpose in this globally distributed industry.
Perhaps the future will not appear in a single 'Silicon Valley,' but in a series of on-demand, purpose-driven communities that can emerge anywhere, anytime there is a need for innovation. In fact, such iterations have already begun to take shape—for example, ZuThailand, which will be held in Pattaya from November to December 2024, and we at IOSG Ventures are honored to be involved in supporting it. These communities will not just be fleeting gatherings—as Janine from Edge City said, they are 'social incubators' where we can test and develop new models of education, healthcare, and human development.
Looking ahead, I believe we are only just scratching 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 where innovation occurs—they are fundamentally reshaping how we co-create our future.