Invisible Worlds

About Invisible Worlds

Invisible Worlds, Inc. was a forward-thinking startup that operated from approximately 1998 to mid-2000, positioning itself at the forefront of internet protocol development during the dot-com boom. The company was established by a team of visionaries: Carl Malamud, who served as the Chairman and CEO, Rebecca Hargrave, and Martin Lucas. Malamud was already a recognized internet pioneer, known for his work in making public data accessible online, including creating the first internet radio station and putting the SEC's EDGAR database online. This background in building fundamental internet infrastructure directly informed the mission of Invisible Worlds.

The firm's core focus was the creation and promotion of a new internet protocol named the Blocks eXtensible eXchange Protocol (BXXP), also known as "Blocks". This technology was engineered as a transport protocol specifically for XML data, envisioned to function for XML much like HTTP does for HTML. The objective was to standardize the way XML data was exchanged across the internet, a critical challenge at a time when XML was emerging as a key format for data interchange. Invisible Worlds successfully navigated the standardization process, with BXXP being published as a proposed standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC 3080. The business model appears to have been centered on establishing this protocol as a fundamental layer of the internet, which would have created opportunities for consulting, software development, and support services. The company successfully raised three rounds of financing and grew to a team of 50 employees.

In addition to its technical pursuits, Invisible Worlds fostered a community around its interests in data visualization and web development through the Mappa.Mundi Magazine. This publication served as a platform for discussing the broader concepts and implications of emerging web technologies. Despite its promising technology and growth, Invisible Worlds ceased operations in 2000, and its founders moved on to other ventures, with Malamud continuing his influential work in public domain advocacy. The company represents a significant, albeit short-lived, chapter in the evolution of web infrastructure, contributing a key protocol to the open standards that underpin the modern internet.