Over the past two decades, smart city efforts produced valuable insights but also widespread “death by pilot,” with stalled projects, immature markets, and solutions without real customers. Today, urban innovation is shifting to citizen-centric strategies and leveraging emerging technologies that reach far beyond municipal efficiencies. The rise of the Citiverse is virtualizing cities and services end-to-end, unlocking major business opportunities while demanding new partnerships and responsibilities. The key questions now are what comes next, how to prepare, and who will benefit.