DR
Dario Riccio
CEO & Co-founder
From the halls of Cinecittà, he learned that content is everything—but distribution is what makes it live. A storyteller who understands that technology is an amplifier of humanity.
About us
Our team
At the usual neXt, we’re driven by a belief: technology should bring people closer, not isolate them. That’s why we use the virtual to create the real.
12
Key people
5
Founding partners
1
Shared vision
our story
From a train to a container of dreams
A simple intuition: use the virtual to bring value, confidence, and presence back into real life.
The idea for the usual neXt was born ten years ago, on a train.
Dario Riccio was flipping through Wired when he came across an interview with Douglas Trumbull — the legendary special-effects creator behind 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner — describing his prototypes for the immersive cinema of the future. That read sparked something, but it wasn’t only technology that inspired it: it was a social intuition.
For some time, Riccio had been watching human connections migrate into the digital world, leaving a void in real life. The research that followed confirmed what he sensed: preteens immersed too long in social networks begin to perceive that filtered reality as the reality. The result? Insecurity, a sense of inadequacy compared to a “perfect” world that doesn’t exist, the loss of ideals, and fear of taking risks.
Leadership
Who leads the project
A hybrid group: direction, diplomacy, technology, installation. The page should feel like human energy, not an org chart.
DR
JK
John Kapine Kodo
President & Co-founder
Liaison officer for Chad, consultant in international cooperation. Two master’s degrees, three languages. He builds bridges where others see distance.
ID
Igor Di Paolo
IT Director
Architect of the technological solutions that make our immersive experiences possible.
EG
Edoardo Guarnieri
Technical Director
Oversees every technical aspect of installations, ensuring quality and reliability.
DL
David Lombardozzi
Glamping Manager
Takes care of every detail of the glamping experiences, from the location to premium services.
From concept to build
Funding the impossible
First the funding, then the workflows, then the venues: the vision takes shape through AI, suppliers, testing, and real logistics.
Something had to be done. But money was needed too.
In an Italy where funding was still a mirage, Riccio made a radical decision: move to Switzerland. Years of work and a Swiss salary, combined with his passion for investing, financed what no one had ever attempted: the world’s first immersive feature-length film. And with it came the first technicians, training, travel, and experiments.
The team is built piece by piece, like a story of friendship.
The first to believe in the project was Kapine Kodo, a childhood friend with a background in international diplomacy. Then came Serena Maltagliati, whose writing skills impressed Riccio so much that he entrusted her with creating the character who would become the face of the company: Luna Dolph, our virtual influencer.
Michela Sette joined as a 3D artist for the first projects, soon proving to be a key asset thanks to her pragmatism and vision. Michele Pelosio, director of the Luna Dolph film, brought his professionalism and enthusiasm to a project he felt was his own.
The technical turning point arrived with Edoardo Guarnieri, met almost by chance — relatives in common with a friend, and the luck of living near the Swiss border. Riccio was looking for someone willing to revolutionize 3D production workflows, integrating generative AI when everyone else was pushing back. No one wanted to try. Edoardo did. His entrepreneurial mindset, combined with experience in videomapping (including a collaboration with the Venice Biennale), led him from collaborator, to passionate believer, to partner.
But to create a new kind of cinema, making films wasn’t enough: the theaters had to be built.
Immersive cinemas practically didn’t exist. We had to create them ourselves. That’s where David Lombardozzi comes in, with a background in the agricultural industry and a natural talent for practical solutions. Together, months on Alibaba searching for Chinese suppliers, studying projectors, adapting systems. Then the trip to China: visiting factories, shaking hands, building relationships.
A year of work. And finally, the first container.
When it arrived at the port, no one even knew how to pick it up. Igor Di Paolo — software engineer, founding partner — was “kindly forced” by Kodo and Lombardozzi to unload twenty tons of material while Riccio was still in Switzerland. The swearing was friendly. Maybe.
The Team
Specialists at work
MS
Michela Sette
Art Director
Leads the artistic vision of every project, turning ideas into memorable visual experiences.
SM
Serena Maltagliati
Narrative Designer
Builds the stories that come to life in our domes, creating emotional journeys.
JA
Jule Amorosi
Art Curator
Selects and coordinates artistic content, maintaining the highest quality standards.
RS
Ruwan Sampath
Unreal & AI Developer
Specialist in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and 3D art for immersive experiences.
US
Udara Sampath
Full-stack Developer
Builds the digital platforms that support our experiences.
MP
Michele Pelosio
Head of Cinema
Director of Luna Dolph - The Lost Echo. Leads video productions and fulldome content.
MP
Michele Pelosio
Responsabile Cinema
Regista di Luna Dolph - The Lost Echo. Dirige le produzioni video e i contenuti fulldome.
What remains
People first
The project holds because it is made of relationships, operational courage, and a shared joy that outlasts the hard parts.
the usual neXt exists thanks to many other people we haven’t named.
But above all, it exists thanks to the fun we allowed ourselves at every step, the friendship born between the partners, and the humanity that holds this project together more than any business plan ever could.
Entering a blue ocean, creating a market that didn’t exist, and doing it in a scalable way: it’s among the most complex and risky things you can attempt. But the usual neXt is here. And now it’s time to do what we were born to do: bring — first to Italy, then to Switzerland and the rest of Europe — a breath of real life and self-confidence to young and not-so-young alike.
Because we believe that the most advanced technology can, paradoxically, lead us back to more authentic and deeply human connections.
Join the project
Want to be part of the project?
We’re always looking for talents passionate about technology, creativity, and human connection.