AMPD Ventures Inc is a technology company, provides cloud and computing solutions to gaming and digital media companies in Canada and the United States. The company offers solutions for video games and eSports, computer graphics rendering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, mixed reality, and big data processing fields. It also provides AMPD Virtual Studio, a suite of private cloud-based solutions designed to create infrastructure-less studio; AMPD Virtual Workstation; AMPD Render solutions; AMPD Storage solutions; AMPD Metal, a bare metal server product; AMPD Cloud Plus; AMPD Flexible Edge; AMPD Virtual Production Services; AMPD Machine Learning Platform; AMPD CDN solutions; AMPD Game Hosting; and AMPD Studio.

Joseph Morton sums them up very nicely:

AMPD isn’t like other computer companies. Whereas other computers might provide access to the cloud or even upgrades to whatever shiny new computer or technological what not’s presently making waves, AMPD handles the infrastructure behind all of these front-line applications. They offer high performance computing solutions in sustainable urban data centres, and are at the forefront of the transition to the next generation of computing infrastructure by being the hosting company of the Metaverse.

Note that hosting the metaverse and being a metaverse provider are two different articles altogether. AMPD provides the levers and hydraulics and the workings behind the curtain of the metaverse, but the wizard still needs to run the show.

So how is AMPD an under the radar metaverse play? AMPD’s subsidiary, Departure Lounge Inc, which offers a range of metaverse related technologies and creative services has entered into a lease and education collaboration agreement with the Centre for Digital Media. This is the first phase of plans to develop a globally attractive metaverse innovation centre.

• Departure Lounge will house its range of Metaverse-related technology solutions, including its recently announced state-of-the-art Metastage volumetric capture stage, on campus at the CDM.
• The facility is expected to be used as a catalyst for a range of work-integrated learning and research opportunities including students, faculty, and the community of digital content creators across the province.
• The CDM will collaborate with Departure Lounge and other industry and community-based partners to develop Metaverse-related micro-credentials and other programs to help address skilled labor shortages and ensure resources are made available to a broad cross-section of the community.

“Our founding team has enjoyed working with CDM students, alumni, and faculty on many collaborative projects over the years, and I am pleased that we have been able to establish our Departure Lounge Vancouver HQ at the heart of such a thriving digital media community,” said James Hursthouse, CEO at Departure Lounge. “Departure Lounge and our partners will take an active role in promoting industry academic partnerships and helping to develop the next generation of digital creative talent here in BC as we embrace the opportunity represented by the Metaverse and new frontiers in immersive content development.”

Departure lounge also announced a strategic partnership agreement with Orderinbox Inc, a Vancouver-based creator of the social NFT marketplace for the Metaverse.

• Orderinbox will work with Departure Lounge as its preferred Metaverse Development Partner, complimenting Orderinbox’s platform with enhanced 3D environment development, and other creative and Web3-related services.
• Departure Lounge will utilize the Orderinbox platform as its preferred NFT marketplace.

AMPD Ventures has also raised CAD $1,827,500 in a non-brokered private placement on August 4th 2022. Each unit also includes one common share purchase warrant with each warrant entitling the holder to subscribe for one common share at an exercise price of CAD $0.20 for a period of 18 months following the closing date of the financing.

I personally also have an interest in AMPD’s Virtual Studio. You have been seeing many tv shows and movies using the virtual studio as opposed to live location. This saves on costs and takes away any logistics headaches. AMPD’s most recent news is huge. World-renowned Tippett Studio has selected AMPD Virtual Studio to help power their growth and expansion into the North American market.

Tippett’s recent projects include work on “The Book of Boba Fett,” Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” Marvel Studios’ “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” all three on Disney+, and Season 2 of “Locke and Key” on Netflix. Tippett Canada will be servicing clients including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Disney, Showtime, New Line Cinema, AMC, Amazon, and Legendary Pictures, including “The Toxic Avenger.”

The stock markets have taken a hit. In the last few trading days, global markets showed some signs of recovery and reversal but are falling once more. Many technical analysts are looking for stocks that are near bottom. Bottoms and reversals tend to occur at support levels, or price floor levels. Previous all time lows are one of the most important and powerful support levels for down trending stocks.

AMPD sure gets a technical analyst like me intrigued. The chart clearly shows the market phases. We have (had) our downtrend, and we are currently now in a range.

The missing phase is the uptrend. An uptrend that tends to come once a stock breaks out of a range. A range is important because it indicates basing or consolidation. It is extremely important after a downtrend because it tells us that the selling pressure has exhausted.

The range is being contained within $0.12 to the downside and $0.185 to the upside. Note that on July 11th 2022 we actually broke above this range. The stock rallied up to $0.25 (another resistance level) before selling off and dropping back below $0.185. The reason was because of the financing. But now the company has the cash to trigger a catalyst to get the stock to breakout. A catalyst which would sustain price momentum.

It should also be noted that while markets have been selling off, AMPD has held up quite well. The stock has just been ranging while many other Canadian small caps have been puking lower. If broader stock markets begin to bounce from here, anything testing major support will follow along.

So for bulls: a daily close above $0.185 gets the breakout going. $0.25 is the next resistance zone that would be tested afterwards, but we need to focus on $0.185 first. Watch for a strong close and subsequent days to hold above it for conviction. There is a usually a retest of the breakout zone before continuation. Expect prices to pullback to retest $0.185 after the breakout which will give bulls another chance if they missed out on the initial breakout. Notice that the breakout retest failed during the previous breakout. We did not see bulls step in at the end of July which means the breakout turned out to be a false breakout.

If we do not break above and instead break below $0.12, then we would be targeting $0.08 and would have to reassess things.

In summary, are you bullish on all things metaverse? But not just the metaverse but also virtual production? AMPD should be on your radar as the company has money in the bank, and could be at the beginning stages of a new potential uptrend.

–Vishal Toora