Big Tech Wants Its Next Destiny in the Metaverse

The Metaverse remains more aspirational than real, and its biggest proponents don’t expect it to form quickly. Supporters however see many possibilities, from the sale of the hardware and software needed to access the metaverse to the sale of virtual goods, services and advertisements within the digital world.

Companies large and small have begun to outline business plans for the metaverse. Microsoft said last week that it would roll out software tools around the Metaverse in the coming months, the price of which has yet to be disclosed. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said last week that as the company works on the Metaverse, it will be looking for ways to help creators make money, potentially tapping the $1 billion fund. Which has already been established by the social-media giant.

For tech leaders, the metaverse is emerging as a generational step-change in how digital interactions and commerce are manifested. Proponents of the Metaverse say the new digital world will have a profound impact on daily life, not unlike the Internet or the emergence of the iPhone.

“When we talk about the metaverse, we’re describing both a new platform and a new application type, much like we talked about the web and websites in the early ’90s,” said Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella said that he started the company. New tools for the digital world. They include a broader ability for users of Microsoft’s Teams workplace-collaboration software, starting next year, to join meetings using customized avatars, a digital representation of a person.

Analysts say the digital world offers new ways to buy, which should boost sales. “I think the commerce potential will go crazy because you’ll see these stuff that’s virtual and instead of looking at pictures, you’ll be able to rotate objects and look at them and try on different things,” said Brent Thiel, a Analyst covering the tech sector at investment bank Jefferies.

Analysts say it is difficult to predict the size of the potential metaverse economy at this early stage. However, one pointed to more than $80 billion being spent annually on virtual goods in videogames as an indication of how much business can be generated in virtual worlds.

The opportunities to earn money at this point are largely linked to the establishment of infrastructure for the online sector.

Meta is selling its Oculus virtual-reality headset for $299 and said it’s working on augmented-reality devices. Snap Inc. sells a pair of augmented reality glasses for $380. Microsoft sells its HoloLens headset, aimed at business users, for the most affordable price of $2,975. The US military is among its customers.

The global augmented and virtual-reality appliance market is expected to grow by more than 50% this year, reaching a total of 9 million units, according to data from International Data Corp. By 2025, shipments could reach 28.7 million units, IDC. it is said.

Graphics-chip company Nvidia Corp. is rolling out software called Omniverse Enterprise that provides collaboration and simulation tools on a subscription basis. It bills the suite as foundational for creating and connecting virtual worlds and introduced new tools early Tuesday, including one for creating interactive artificial-intelligence avatars.

“I’m pretty sure that at this point the Omniverse or Metaverse is going to be a new economy that’s bigger than our current economy,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on the company’s most recent earnings call.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Key CEO Lisa Su said on Monday that Meta has selected her company’s chips for use in its cloud as part of the company’s data-center expansion.

Videogame companies Roblox Corp. And Epic Games, which produces “Fortnite,” has hosted virtual concerts and other immersive experiences on its platform. As of now the events are free to attend, but attendees can purchase related virtual items.

Other companies are also buying into the Metaverse concept. Consulting firm Accenture Plc said last month that it had purchased 60,000 Oculus headsets to train new employees. Nike Inc filed a trademark application last month indicating it wants to sell digital versions of its business in the online world.

Digital advertising, which exploded in the age of social media and has been the backbone of meta earnings, is expected to migrate to the metaverse. Some advertisers are experimenting with digital universes like the Metaverse like Roblox in an effort to build brand recognition, but haven’t yet been able to use the platform to sell physical goods.

Brian Weiser, global president of business intelligence at WPP plc’s GroupM, said Meta’s announcement around the online realm could inspire some brands to experiment with augmented and virtual reality and envision creative ways in those spaces. , which have already established virtual communities.

Mr Zuckerberg, who has emerged as one of the most vocal Metaverse supporters, said the new online arena will not be controlled by just one company. Mr Zuckerberg has said for years that Apple Inc. and its App Store policies have a huge impact on the social-media company’s business.

“I believe that lack of choice and high fees are stifling innovation, preventing people from building new things and stalling the entire Internet economy,” he told his company to build the Metaverse at an event last week. details of the plans.

Apple defends its App Store fees as reasonable and in the same way as other digital marketplaces. The iPhone maker is also working on an augmented reality headset for consumers, which analysts expect to hit the market as soon as next year, and the company’s plans for AR glasses.

There are doubts that the metaverse will fundamentally change the way business is conducted, pointing to earlier iterations — such as Second Life in the 2000s — that fueled excitement before fizzling out.

At some point there will be trading in the Metaverse, Mark Ruscino, a partner at research firm Gartner Inc., said in a blog post. “But it will not happen in the 2020s. It probably won’t happen in the 2030s,” he said.

Building the Metaverse comes with a high upfront cost. Meta said its Metaverse efforts would result in $10 billion in its operating costs. The company has also said that it expects to increase capital expenditure on items such as network infrastructure and data centers by about 80% next year.

“Our hope though is that if we all work at this, within the next decade, the metaverse will reach 1 billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars in digital commerce and support jobs for millions of creators and developers. ,” Mr Zuckerberg said at the event last week.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed