Visionary Leadership | Global Advisors | Innovation Catalysts
Founded in 2012 by celebrated futurist Radia Funna, Build n Blaze stands at the forefront of digital and cultural transformation, driving impact across organizations, government, and society. As global thought leaders, strategic advisors, and deep technical experts in emerging and disruptive technologies, we empower leaders to shape the future, not just navigate it.
Visionary Leadership
Build n Blaze pioneers frameworks and standards that redefine how organizations, nations, and communities approach Artificial Intelligence (AI), metaverse, and quantum innovation. Our “xHuman Theory”, “User Confidence Framework,” and “SDG PPP Framework,”—created by Radia Funna and adopted by international bodies—are setting new benchmarks in trust, governance, and societal value for the digital age.
Global Advisors
We guide organizations, governments, and multilateral bodies through complex, high-stakes digital transformation—spanning AI, cybersecurity, immersive technologies, and more. Our holistic approach unites deep technical rigor with ethical imperatives and global best practices, ensuring every strategy is resilient, equitable, and future-proof.
Innovation Catalysts
Our expertise encompasses advanced computing, quantum, and virtual worlds, bolstered by hands-on leadership in global standards development. Through the upcoming Build n Blaze Collaborative, we are uniting a diverse ecosystem of innovators, policymakers, and other stakeholders, accelerating cross-sector breakthroughs, sharing knowledge, and driving inclusive progress at the national and international scale.
Radia Funna, Our Founder & CEO
Clarity and Confidence in the Digital Age
"A visionary force shaping humanity's technological future..."
Radia Funna is an internationally recognized futurist, theorist, and digital transformation pioneer who has spent over 25 years at the forefront of emerging and disruptive technologies and systems change. As the architect of globally adopted frameworks and UN-approved standards, she guides organizations, governments, and international bodies through the complexities of AI, metaverse, and quantum technologies, ensuring ethical, sustainable, and human-centered innovation.
Foundational Theories
User Confidence Framework | 2023
Developed by Radia to complement and enable her core theories on systems-driven transformation and participatory innovation, the User Confidence Framework provides a systematic approach to understanding and cultivating trust in new technologies. It focuses on identifying the components and conditions that empower users to engage confidently; addressing usability, security, transparency, and meaningful choice.
Theory of the xHuman | 2017
Created by Radia to expand on her foundational work in organizational strategy, the xHuman theory offers a systems-based lens for understanding the interface between humans and emerging technologies. It explores how technological advancement transforms institutions and societal structures, reshaping leadership legitimacy across public, private, and civil sectors.
Disruptive Organizational Strategy | 2011
The pioneering framework that anticipated the Fourth Industrial Revolution's organizational impacts five years before its mainstream recognition, Radia's Disruptive Organizational Strategy provides leaders with a structured approach to navigating complexity and change in the digital era. This framework highlights how to engineer adaptability, resilience, and value creation by aligning strategic vision with systems thinking and collaborative innovation.
Global Authority in Immersive and Emerging Technologies
Radia charts the digital frontier as a co-architect of the United Nations’ official metaverse definition, guiding governments, industries, and multilateral organizations through their most pivotal technology transformations.
As the force behind frameworks like the User Confidence Framework and the Framework for Metaverse Participation, Radia equips the world to navigate virtual worlds with trust and accountability.
Her strategic leadership shapes immersive technology policy and readiness not only on a global scale, but in regions including the European Union and the Arab Region, where she engineers holistic strategies for equitable adoption and innovation.
Building Sustainable Futures for the Connected Age
With a vision for lasting impact, Radia advances standards that anchor the future of AI, cybersecurity, and digital society in ethics and resilience. From leading the creation of the world’s benchmark AI sustainability standard at IEEE to collaborating on new defenses against quantum-era threats, she is at the forefront of ensuring that emerging technologies support humanity responsibly. Her contributions drive the development of inclusive, adaptive technology ecosystems—empowering organizations, governments, and individuals to realize measurable, sustainable progress in every dimension of the digital age.
Transformative Impact
- Founding Chair, UN Virtual Worlds Day (2024-Present)
- Special Advisor to multiple UN agencies (2017-Present)
- Creator of 20+ novel frameworks and definitions adopted by international bodies
- Author/Co-author of 10+ technical reports and standards shaping global tech policy
- Member of elite advisory councils including Stimson Center's Loomis Council
Work With Radia
Keynote Speaking & Global Forums
Radia delivers authoritative insights on AI ethics, quantum cybersecurity, metaverse governance, and digital transformation to audiences from the UN to the Fortune 500 on topics including:
- Clarity and Confidence in the Era of Convergence
- AI Ethics and Sustainability in the Digital Age
- Quantum Computing's Cybersecurity Revolution
- Governance for Inclusive Immersive Spaces
- National Digital Strategy and Transformation
Executive & Policy Advisory
Transform your organization's approach to emerging technologies through proven frameworks that align innovation with ethical imperatives and global standards. Partner with the architect of emerging technology standards to shape policy frameworks that ensure responsible innovation at the national and international scale.
Featured Publications
FGMV-20: Definition of Metaverse (ITU)
Led by Radia Funna with contributions from international co-authors, this foundational ITU technical specification establishes the UN-approved metaverse definition adopted by 193 UN Member States. Funna's authoritative leadership in drafting this novel definition and driving its global adoption makes this seminal document the essential guide for interoperable metaverse development worldwide.
FGMV-34: Definitions of CitiVerse (ITU)
This pioneering ITU report, authored by Radia Funna, delivers the authoritative foundation for urban metaverse applications and smart city integration. By establishing her groundbreaking CitiVerse definitions, Funna paves the way for cities worldwide to leverage immersive technologies, driving transformative civic engagement, enhanced public services, and next-generation urban innovation.
FGMV-25: Near-term and Long-term Implications for People in the Metaverse (ITU)
Authored by Radia Funna, this definitive ITU report positions the metaverse as the next evolutionary phase of the Internet, delivering comprehensive frameworks for understanding its present and future implications. With groundbreaking analysis that traces the metaverse through Internet history and contemporary experiences, this report also features Funna's pioneering definition of the Web 3.0/4.0 convergence; providing actionable guidance for maximizing metaverse benefits while minimizing associated risks.
Featured Media
ITU FG-MV Interview: Guidelines on Confidence and Security
In this exclusive ITU interview, Radia Funna unveils her groundbreaking User Confidence Framework and demonstrates its transformative impact on global metaverse security standards. As the architect of trust-building mechanisms for virtual environments, she gives a peek into how her innovative protocols will fundamentally reshape secure, scalable virtual world adoption across industries and governments worldwide.
ISO Annual Meeting: "A New Reality – How to Build a Metaverse for All"
Radia Funna's presentation and featured article at ISO's Annual Meeting explores inclusive metaverse development through international standards. She addresses digital divide challenges, regulatory frameworks, and the critical need for collaborative governance in virtual world evolution.
Quartz: "The Fourth Industrial Revolution Will Eliminate Gender Stereotypes Created by the First"
This influential thought leadership piece introduces Radia Funna's revolutionary xHuman Theory to a global audience. The feature examines her visionary analysis of how emerging technologies are fundamentally reshaping labor structures and gender dynamics, establishing the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a possible catalyst for post-gender economic frameworks.
"The future belongs to those who dare to architect it together. Every breakthrough in standards, every framework for ethical innovation, every step toward an inclusive digital world starts with a conversation between those who are willing to challenge the status quo. Talk soon!"
—Radia Funna
Ready to be part of shaping tomorrow's technology landscape? Radia Funna collaborates with forward-thinking leaders, organizations, and innovators who share her commitment to standards-driven transformation. Whether you are seeking strategic guidance, exploring partnerships, or looking to bring Radia's expertise to your next event, the conversation starts here. Let's build the future responsibly, inclusively, and with impact.