Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Now, if you have children, the chances of you knowing about Roadblocks are pretty high. It's a virtual universe, of course, that allows users to create, to collaborate nearly eighty five million daily active users. Roadblocks is out with a slew of announcements, including a partnership with Google, as well as new parental controls. Shares rallying following the news and let's just unpack it all in inexclusive conversation with Roblox CEO David Bazuki. David is great to have you on the show, and I'm so interested in what analysts are calling right now a smart strategic move, this partnership with Google. What brands are responding to this new partnership we've unveiled.

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Now, if you have children, the chances of you knowing about Roadblocks are pretty high. It's a virtual universe, of course, that allows users to create, to collaborate nearly eighty five million daily active users. Roadblocks is out with a slew of announcements, including a partnership with Google, as well as new parental controls. Shares rallying following the news and let's just unpack it all in inexclusive conversation with Roblox CEO David Bazuki. David is great to have you on the show, and I'm so interested in what analysts are calling right now a smart strategic move, this partnership with Google. What brands are responding to this new partnership we've unveiled.

Hey, great to be on the show and want to highlight you know, we shared a really huge vision of having ten percent of all gaming running on Roadblocks, which is a really big vision. And you know, we feel gaming is still in the prehistoric times as far as how people consume and use gaming content. We have a huge creator community who is already creating amazing businesses. This partnership with Google is another way for those creators to help build their business and monetize. And for our older users, we're going to give our creators side by side virtual currency and side by side subscriptions another way to help build their business on roadblocks. We have many creators making over ten million dollars a year on the platform and some making over fifty million dollars a year. So this is really sponsoring big emerging studios building on our platform.

Hey, great to be on the show and want to highlight you know, we shared a really huge vision of having ten percent of all gaming running on Roadblocks, which is a really big vision. And you know, we feel gaming is still in the prehistoric times as far as how people consume and use gaming content. We have a huge creator community who is already creating amazing businesses. This partnership with Google is another way for those creators to help build their business and monetize. And for our older users, we're going to give our creators side by side virtual currency and side by side subscriptions another way to help build their business on roadblocks. We have many creators making over ten million dollars a year on the platform and some making over fifty million dollars a year. So this is really sponsoring big emerging studios building on our platform.

It's about the ecosystem. I'm interested you say for older users, who do you think the brands really want to expose themselves to right now? In terms of generations? Is it still all about gen z? Is it skewing upward?

It's about the ecosystem. I'm interested you say for older users, who do you think the brands really want to expose themselves to right now? In terms of generations? Is it still all about gen z? Is it skewing upward?

We shared the vision once again of ultimately getting to a billion daily active users on platform with this intermediate step of ten percent of gaming, and in last quarter we shared a lot of fun stats are seventeen through twenty four age group is growing very rapidly. We've become a platform where more of our users are over thirteen. That seventeen through twenty four year old segment is really hard to reach.

We shared the vision once again of ultimately getting to a billion daily active users on platform with this intermediate step of ten percent of gaming, and in last quarter we shared a lot of fun stats are seventeen through twenty four age group is growing very rapidly. We've become a platform where more of our users are over thirteen. That seventeen through twenty four year old segment is really hard to reach.

More and more of them are on roadblocks.

More and more of them are on roadblocks.

As we start to have amazing experiences, whether it's NFL Universe dressed to dress to impress experiences where these types of users are on our platform.

As we start to have amazing experiences, whether it's NFL Universe dressed to dress to impress experiences where these types of users are on our platform.

Dress to impress immediately makes me think about, well, obviously the retail opportunity for brands, but also how it becomes synonymous with physical well too, take us forward is what really advertising will eventually be? For roadblocks?

Dress to impress immediately makes me think about, well, obviously the retail opportunity for brands, but also how it becomes synonymous with physical well too, take us forward is what really advertising will eventually be? For roadblocks?

Okay, well, if we step forward, way forward in a sci fi scenario, I can imagine, just like it's fun to go shopping at the mall today, it's of course we're going to go shopping with our virtual avatars. We're going to be able to go to stores, see our favorite brands. We're going to be able to try clothing on and see how it looks on our avatar. We're going to have a lot of fun doing it, and when we want to buy the physical or the virtual item, we'll be able to make that purchase. So we may look back in ten or twenty years ago, Oh my gosh, it was weird that all of our shopping on the web was two D rather than jumping forward to a future three D and ultimately four dimensional world. So someday maybe we'll go virtual shopping together.

Okay, well, if we step forward, way forward in a sci fi scenario, I can imagine, just like it's fun to go shopping at the mall today, it's of course we're going to go shopping with our virtual avatars. We're going to be able to go to stores, see our favorite brands. We're going to be able to try clothing on and see how it looks on our avatar. We're going to have a lot of fun doing it, and when we want to buy the physical or the virtual item, we'll be able to make that purchase. So we may look back in ten or twenty years ago, Oh my gosh, it was weird that all of our shopping on the web was two D rather than jumping forward to a future three D and ultimately four dimensional world. So someday maybe we'll go virtual shopping together.

Well, advertisers are going to be excited buy it. The analyst is excited by it because ultimately this will become a bigger and bigger part of your business model. When do you think you'll be able to break it out and show just how much advertising is bringing to your bottom line?

Well, advertisers are going to be excited buy it. The analyst is excited by it because ultimately this will become a bigger and bigger part of your business model. When do you think you'll be able to break it out and show just how much advertising is bringing to your bottom line?

Yeah, we once again on this journey to getting over ten percent of the gaming market space. We've shared we expect to be growing our bookings at over twenty percent year on year continuously going forward while generating a lot of cash. And we are looking forward to when we break out the advertising revenue and the commerce revenue we haven't shared.

Yeah, we once again on this journey to getting over ten percent of the gaming market space. We've shared we expect to be growing our bookings at over twenty percent year on year continuously going forward while generating a lot of cash. And we are looking forward to when we break out the advertising revenue and the commerce revenue we haven't shared.

When we will do that.

When we will do that.

Come on the show, Dave, on the show. What you got to break it for us on the show?

Come on the show, Dave, on the show. What you got to break it for us on the show?

Oh, I can't break it on the show, but I'll call you before we break it out and I'll let you know.

Oh, I can't break it on the show, but I'll call you before we break it out and I'll let you know.

I appreciate that nook more seriously for brands to really commit here and to stick with it, for your users to remain it's also all about safety. I know you've been putting a lot of thought into that. You've got new parental controls that you're announcing today for us, Dave, talk us through them.

I appreciate that nook more seriously for brands to really commit here and to stick with it, for your users to remain it's also all about safety. I know you've been putting a lot of thought into that. You've got new parental controls that you're announcing today for us, Dave, talk us through them.

Yeah, we'll take a step back even when we first launched the platform very early on. Our goal was to build the safest place on the Internet, and as a Roadbox has become more embedded in our culture, we're constantly shipping safety improvements. We're really trying to support parents to make great decisions for their family. So we already preemptively have screen time limits on Roadblocks. Parents can set that with their family. We're announcing today more parental visibility. Parents will be able to see where the people and their family, the younger people at least, are playing on Roadblocks. They're going to have more and more control of who their kids are friends with, and they'll actually have control over what experiences they might say is not appropriate for our family. So this notion of focusing on safety and giving parents control, in addition to all of the other safety work we do, is really a big priority for us.

Yeah, we'll take a step back even when we first launched the platform very early on. Our goal was to build the safest place on the Internet, and as a Roadbox has become more embedded in our culture, we're constantly shipping safety improvements. We're really trying to support parents to make great decisions for their family. So we already preemptively have screen time limits on Roadblocks. Parents can set that with their family. We're announcing today more parental visibility. Parents will be able to see where the people and their family, the younger people at least, are playing on Roadblocks. They're going to have more and more control of who their kids are friends with, and they'll actually have control over what experiences they might say is not appropriate for our family. So this notion of focusing on safety and giving parents control, in addition to all of the other safety work we do, is really a big priority for us.

How does that fit with the kids actually experience, Dave, And do you think in any way we'll start to see less time spent on the product.

How does that fit with the kids actually experience, Dave, And do you think in any way we'll start to see less time spent on the product.

We once again there's something really cool about Roadblocks and this form of social media. The form of social media that Roadblox is really communication and connection. And when I was a kid, sometime on rainy days I would pick up the phone and that's how I'd hang out with my friends. Roadblocks is less about sharing short videos and watching them by myself or sharing images of myself. It's about doing things with other people, and so I think parents, working with the young people and their family will figure out what's right for them.

We once again there's something really cool about Roadblocks and this form of social media. The form of social media that Roadblox is really communication and connection. And when I was a kid, sometime on rainy days I would pick up the phone and that's how I'd hang out with my friends. Roadblocks is less about sharing short videos and watching them by myself or sharing images of myself. It's about doing things with other people, and so I think parents, working with the young people and their family will figure out what's right for them.

At one point, you did suggest that if parents don't trust the product, they should keep their kids off. What's the reaction been to that, right.

At one point, you did suggest that if parents don't trust the product, they should keep their kids off. What's the reaction been to that, right.

Well, I think there was a lot more context to that. What we were talking about is comfort and the noes in. We think parents should be comfortable with what the young people are doing on their platform.

Well, I think there was a lot more context to that. What we were talking about is comfort and the noes in. We think parents should be comfortable with what the young people are doing on their platform.

We do.

We do.

You know, safeties are our top priority. We're shipping safety improvements every week and this is just one of many many announcements. You know, one of the biggest things we do on Roadblocks is try to keep people on our platform so they don't go to other platforms where they may share images or where they may chat with unfiltered texts. So that quote I made was about parents should be comfortable with what their family is doing.

You know, safeties are our top priority. We're shipping safety improvements every week and this is just one of many many announcements. You know, one of the biggest things we do on Roadblocks is try to keep people on our platform so they don't go to other platforms where they may share images or where they may chat with unfiltered texts. So that quote I made was about parents should be comfortable with what their family is doing.

How much can AI make them more comfortable?

How much can AI make them more comfortable?

So behind the scenes before we're in an amazing time with AI right now, it's changing how we create. It's changing ultimately how people create on roadblocks. And we think what's going to happen on roadblocks is rather than maybe the text world or the image world, which is the.

So behind the scenes before we're in an amazing time with AI right now, it's changing how we create. It's changing ultimately how people create on roadblocks. And we think what's going to happen on roadblocks is rather than maybe the text world or the image world, which is the.

One D world or the two D world.

One D world or the two D world.

On roadblocks, we're going to be supporting the three D world where people are building three D objects behind the scenes. We've been building an AI platform for four years. We have over two hundred models running on roadblocks. All of the images that people use when they're creating, all of the text, all of the voice on roadblocks runs through some of these models, and so AA.

On roadblocks, we're going to be supporting the three D world where people are building three D objects behind the scenes. We've been building an AI platform for four years. We have over two hundred models running on roadblocks. All of the images that people use when they're creating, all of the text, all of the voice on roadblocks runs through some of these models, and so AA.

Has really been a foundation of what we've done.

Has really been a foundation of what we've done.

We are our voice model is so good and so efficient that we've shared it on hugging Face so other companies can use it. I was just at the Game Developers Conference. I ran into a startup and I said, how are you going to do voice safety? And they said, we're going to use your open source voice models. So we're really trying to give back to the community and these areas where we've got, you know, expertise, and we've also joined a consortium to try to make this open source for more small companies.

We are our voice model is so good and so efficient that we've shared it on hugging Face so other companies can use it. I was just at the Game Developers Conference. I ran into a startup and I said, how are you going to do voice safety? And they said, we're going to use your open source voice models. So we're really trying to give back to the community and these areas where we've got, you know, expertise, and we've also joined a consortium to try to make this open source for more small companies.

Now consortium roost Robust online open safety tools alongside Google and discord just how collaborative is it with other platforms when it comes to or is there more collaboration needed day.

Now consortium roost Robust online open safety tools alongside Google and discord just how collaborative is it with other platforms when it comes to or is there more collaboration needed day.

We're one of the founding members. We want to more and more make open source. Some of the models we've built for safety Voices is arguably one of the first steps for that, and it's exciting to me that I'm starting to hear of small startup companies who will simply use our voice model. We've also made our three D foundational AI model, the Cube model, also open source, and we believe once again these foundational models, because we have such an expertise in training and building them, can be used by others.

We're one of the founding members. We want to more and more make open source. Some of the models we've built for safety Voices is arguably one of the first steps for that, and it's exciting to me that I'm starting to hear of small startup companies who will simply use our voice model. We've also made our three D foundational AI model, the Cube model, also open source, and we believe once again these foundational models, because we have such an expertise in training and building them, can be used by others.

I just go back to what you said at the start there, Dave, that you wanted to build the safest place on the Internet all the way back in two thousand and six. The world was such a different place in two thousand and six, and yes, we might as parents have been anxious about what our kids were doing on the streets. But now we've got an anxiety level around all of what could be going on the Internet. And then you add AI on top of that, and the moderation crisis that evolves of that have ever more content that you have to oversee. Just what does it feel like as someone who I know is a parent has their nephew nieces using roadblocks is really thoughtful about the future of Internet? Does it upset you or how does it make you respond when the worst of humanity creeps on it.

I just go back to what you said at the start there, Dave, that you wanted to build the safest place on the Internet all the way back in two thousand and six. The world was such a different place in two thousand and six, and yes, we might as parents have been anxious about what our kids were doing on the streets. But now we've got an anxiety level around all of what could be going on the Internet. And then you add AI on top of that, and the moderation crisis that evolves of that have ever more content that you have to oversee. Just what does it feel like as someone who I know is a parent has their nephew nieces using roadblocks is really thoughtful about the future of Internet? Does it upset you or how does it make you respond when the worst of humanity creeps on it.

I'm surprisingly very optimistic, and I'm surprising, you know. I'm optimistic because more and more, from the safety standpoint, AI gives us enormous power and enormous tools to help moderate both content as well as communication. On the creation side, I'm very optimistic because I more and more people on roadblocks are going to become creators, and people who feel they could never have designed clothing, or could never have designed a new house, or could never design a sports car are going to start being able to design these things by talking about them and not just design them one time, but iterate on them, improve on them. So just like digital tools like Photoshop replaced oil painting, I actually feel AI is gonna make us all feel more like creators and supercharged creativity amongst all of us.

I'm surprisingly very optimistic, and I'm surprising, you know. I'm optimistic because more and more, from the safety standpoint, AI gives us enormous power and enormous tools to help moderate both content as well as communication. On the creation side, I'm very optimistic because I more and more people on roadblocks are going to become creators, and people who feel they could never have designed clothing, or could never have designed a new house, or could never design a sports car are going to start being able to design these things by talking about them and not just design them one time, but iterate on them, improve on them. So just like digital tools like Photoshop replaced oil painting, I actually feel AI is gonna make us all feel more like creators and supercharged creativity amongst all of us.

So we love the low five vibes of roadblocks in the past. How much is it going to become high fidelity what we're currently seeing on our screens.

So we love the low five vibes of roadblocks in the past. How much is it going to become high fidelity what we're currently seeing on our screens.

The long term spec for the product, and really one of the most difficult specifications of any technical platform is giving artists complete freedom. And with video right now, we could argue that artists have freedom. We see animation, we see anime, we see photorealistic, we see hyper realistic. We're introducing more and more functionality, and we mentioned this part of the the notion that we want to have ten percent of the gaming space on our platform, so ultimately artists can either go our traditional blocky style, a more realistic style, or ultimately, with some of the cloud facilities, we're building high res styles that they're used to in some of the other types of games they see out there in the market.

The long term spec for the product, and really one of the most difficult specifications of any technical platform is giving artists complete freedom. And with video right now, we could argue that artists have freedom. We see animation, we see anime, we see photorealistic, we see hyper realistic. We're introducing more and more functionality, and we mentioned this part of the the notion that we want to have ten percent of the gaming space on our platform, so ultimately artists can either go our traditional blocky style, a more realistic style, or ultimately, with some of the cloud facilities, we're building high res styles that they're used to in some of the other types of games they see out there in the market.

You talk about how you want to serve the market, the ecosystem, the developers you've done. I mean, the value creation that we've seen with one of the key developers being Brookhaven, has been phenomenal. They sold out of oldex. Do you know the sort of size of deal and how many millions are going for those sorts of purchases.

You talk about how you want to serve the market, the ecosystem, the developers you've done. I mean, the value creation that we've seen with one of the key developers being Brookhaven, has been phenomenal. They sold out of oldex. Do you know the sort of size of deal and how many millions are going for those sorts of purchases.

I can't comment on the size of the deal.

I can't comment on the size of the deal.

I'm pretty sure the deals are starting to get into nine figures, not eight figures. At the Roadblocks Developer conference last September, one of my ten prognostications was, We're going to see a billion dollar market value.

I'm pretty sure the deals are starting to get into nine figures, not eight figures. At the Roadblocks Developer conference last September, one of my ten prognostications was, We're going to see a billion dollar market value.

Deal for a studio on.

Deal for a studio on.

Roadblocks, and arguably we should see that happen. If we keep pushing the technology for the gaming space, and if we have ten percent of the gaming in the world running on our platform, we're going to see more and more of those studios start to show up.

Roadblocks, and arguably we should see that happen. If we keep pushing the technology for the gaming space, and if we have ten percent of the gaming in the world running on our platform, we're going to see more and more of those studios start to show up.

Talking about gaming, but you're also talking about how this is ultimately a social endeavor. Who is your competitor right now? Is it eyes and minutes spent on TikTok and social media or is it other gaming platforms.

Talking about gaming, but you're also talking about how this is ultimately a social endeavor. Who is your competitor right now? Is it eyes and minutes spent on TikTok and social media or is it other gaming platforms.

It's an interesting metaphor it.

It's an interesting metaphor it.

As we think about competition, we think more about this vision we have in the company, and also what is technically possible with today's technology.

As we think about competition, we think more about this vision we have in the company, and also what is technically possible with today's technology.

We know it's technically possible ultimately.

We know it's technically possible ultimately.

For a young creator to build a really interesting experience, have it immediately be live in any country, it be within the policies of any country, have it automatically translated to any language, and have it run either on a very low end device, a two gigabyte RAM phone or a super high end gaming PC and allow people to join that experience instantaneously without a download. Because we know all of this is possible and we're building it as quickly as we can. We do sometimes think our competition is our own ability to iterate quickly.

For a young creator to build a really interesting experience, have it immediately be live in any country, it be within the policies of any country, have it automatically translated to any language, and have it run either on a very low end device, a two gigabyte RAM phone or a super high end gaming PC and allow people to join that experience instantaneously without a download. Because we know all of this is possible and we're building it as quickly as we can. We do sometimes think our competition is our own ability to iterate quickly.

Some might say about TikTok being a competitor. We had Jesse Tinsley on the show previously. He said, you're supporting his bid for TikTok on a personal perspective? Are you still day.

Some might say about TikTok being a competitor. We had Jesse Tinsley on the show previously. He said, you're supporting his bid for TikTok on a personal perspective? Are you still day.

A high level I won't comment on what bid I'm supporting. I do think there's one of the things we're highlighting in our discovery system is transparency, and I think there's an underlying theme of all of these bids. Whether the algorithm is running in the US or at the lead, it's completely transparent. I think people all around the world would like to see transparency in these algorithms. One of the things we're doing more and more on roadblocks for the creators who also our users find cool experiences on roadblocks is being very transparent with how our algorithm is working, so developers can can know how we're forwarding things to the user. But I do think whatever the bid on TikTok is, we're going to see transparency of that algorithm and arguably an air gap where that algorithm has to run.

A high level I won't comment on what bid I'm supporting. I do think there's one of the things we're highlighting in our discovery system is transparency, and I think there's an underlying theme of all of these bids. Whether the algorithm is running in the US or at the lead, it's completely transparent. I think people all around the world would like to see transparency in these algorithms. One of the things we're doing more and more on roadblocks for the creators who also our users find cool experiences on roadblocks is being very transparent with how our algorithm is working, so developers can can know how we're forwarding things to the user. But I do think whatever the bid on TikTok is, we're going to see transparency of that algorithm and arguably an air gap where that algorithm has to run.

In the United States, the administration pretty involved in the TikTok bid. Now the administration, the current SEC now inheriting a potential investigation into Roadblocks. How is that going day?

In the United States, the administration pretty involved in the TikTok bid. Now the administration, the current SEC now inheriting a potential investigation into Roadblocks. How is that going day?

I can't comment on that.

I can't comment on that.

I constantly say we run an extremely type ship and we're very proud of everything we do.

I constantly say we run an extremely type ship and we're very proud of everything we do.

Pride is something you want to make global. And you're talking about how people can create immersive world and immediately go into any language, any country right here right now, it's quite difficult to be a global country company when based in the US. How do you feel about the trade anxiety that's currently undergoing and what it means for your business?

Pride is something you want to make global. And you're talking about how people can create immersive world and immediately go into any language, any country right here right now, it's quite difficult to be a global country company when based in the US. How do you feel about the trade anxiety that's currently undergoing and what it means for your business?

I was just in Emirates at the World Forum, and what.

I was just in Emirates at the World Forum, and what.

Was interesting is in Emirates there are some top Roadblocks creators who are are contributing code to some of the top experiences on the platform, and also some top creators who are are fashion creators who are doing quite well in the virtual economy on the platform. I'm optimistic for platforms like Roadblocks where there's a demand for amazing content more and more of our creators, whether they're in the USA, whether they're in the Gulf region, whether they're down in Brazil, where you.

Was interesting is in Emirates there are some top Roadblocks creators who are are contributing code to some of the top experiences on the platform, and also some top creators who are are fashion creators who are doing quite well in the virtual economy on the platform. I'm optimistic for platforms like Roadblocks where there's a demand for amazing content more and more of our creators, whether they're in the USA, whether they're in the Gulf region, whether they're down in Brazil, where you.

Know, we have an enormous activity.

Know, we have an enormous activity.

I'm really excited that we can offer a global economy for these creators, and we see our top creators coming from all around the world dressed to impress team.

I'm really excited that we can offer a global economy for these creators, and we see our top creators coming from all around the world dressed to impress team.

For example, I believe.

For example, I believe.

Is in the UK your username is build Aman. Are you still busy building a view that this is going to be the metaverse that we're going to live in that in the next few years? Is that what the ultimate vision is here day?

Is in the UK your username is build Aman. Are you still busy building a view that this is going to be the metaverse that we're going to live in that in the next few years? Is that what the ultimate vision is here day?

The vision we have is humans are always trying to find a way to communicate. And we used to use the mail system, we use the phone system, we use texting, we're on video, we're communicating on video, and we believe three D communication is going to sit side by side with that.

The vision we have is humans are always trying to find a way to communicate. And we used to use the mail system, we use the phone system, we use texting, we're on video, we're communicating on video, and we believe three D communication is going to sit side by side with that.

Three D communication is pretty interesting.

Three D communication is pretty interesting.

We can change our avatar, we can play Hide and Seek together, we can go to a concert together. So we're really optimistic about what we call this evolution to three D and fort dy communication. We think it's going to be big. We think this is a natural evolution of technology. We're in a great opportunity to help usher this in in a safe and civil way. And when we get back to building, we actually call our people and our team with in Roadblocks builders, so that that builder man idea has has really stayed with us.

We can change our avatar, we can play Hide and Seek together, we can go to a concert together. So we're really optimistic about what we call this evolution to three D and fort dy communication. We think it's going to be big. We think this is a natural evolution of technology. We're in a great opportunity to help usher this in in a safe and civil way. And when we get back to building, we actually call our people and our team with in Roadblocks builders, so that that builder man idea has has really stayed with us.

David Zuki, great to have you on the show. Co founder CEO Roadblocks, Stay well,

David Zuki, great to have you on the show. Co founder CEO Roadblocks, Stay well,