Two separate efforts are moving in parallel to create a modern, mass-market home for Go players—each with a distinct strategy for how to get there.
Go Magic 2.0 seeks partners and angels
Go Magic says it’s entering a new phase and is “building the world’s best platform for Go players.” Co-founder Vadim Efimenko has released a business pitch video that expands on the project’s public pitch deck and invites partners and angel investors to help “build the dream platform for the global Go community.” The team says it’s open to collaborations with other Go platforms and community builders.
• Pitch video
• Public pitch deck
• Inquiries (incl. confidential financials): contact@gomagic.org
“Build Chess.com for Go”
In a separate push, a startup team is proposing to “copy the proven Chess.com playbook and apply it to Go.” The founding trio highlights prior product and infra experience:
- Matthew Harwit (founding member at Lowkey and AgentLayer)
- Nathan Harwit (co-created Kids Go Server with Akita Noek, the founder of OGS)
- Kevin Wang (ex-Google software engineer; early ML research scientist at RunwayML)
Their thesis is straightforward: replicate the growth, engagement, and feature stack that scaled chess online, but tuned for Go.
Why it matters
For years the Go ecosystem has been served by a mix of venerable servers and newer tools; these back-to-back initiatives signal fresh investment, competing visions, and potential momentum toward a consolidated, feature-rich destination for learning, playing, spectating, and community. Both groups are courting capital and collaborators—suggesting 2025 could be an inflection point for Go online.
Have a stake in Go’s digital future? Go Magic has published materials and a contact for prospective partners and investors. The Chess.com-for-Go team is assembling talent and backing for its build; email matthewharwit@gmail.com for details.
NOTE: The E-Journal is sharing this as newsworthy to the Go community. Neither the E-Journal nor the AGA are offering investment advice, and any investment has the risk of loss.