Demystifying the metaverse, the hottest new opportunity in the tech world

The metaverse is the biggest tech buzzword right now, but even the most seasoned investors are wondering what the word really means.

The term jumped into public consciousness last month when Facebook announced it was betting big on the Metaverse, going so far as to rebrand the company to, quite simply, Meta. Even so, it’s difficult to come up with an exact definition of what should become a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

“Meta” itself comes from the Greek word for “beyond”, conveying the idea of ​​transcending reality.

Merriam-Webster defines metaverse as “the concept of a highly immersive virtual world where people come together to socialize, play and work”, adding: “the most common use of meta as an adjective meaning” self-referential ” or knowingly distinct from the conventional and concrete world.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg came up with his own definition in a widely released corporate video posted in October. He said: “The next platform and the next medium will be even more immersive – an embodied Internet where you are in the experience, not just watching it. We call this the metaverse.

Define the metaverse

Facebook – or rather Meta – envisions the Metaverse as a virtual arena where people can do “almost anything”: get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, buy, create and new categories that could transcend the way. which we currently use computers or phones today.

“We believe the metaverse will be the successor to mobile Internet,” Zuckerberg said in the video. “Instead of looking at a screen, you are going to have these experiences. This is the determining quality of the metaverse.

Alen Paul Silverrstieen, CEO of Canadian augmented reality company ImagineAR Inc, is a bit more specific in his definition, citing an article in “Wired” magazine that calls the metaverse a digital copy of the physical world that you can interact with and engage with. regularly via mobile devices such as augmented reality (AR) glasses.

READ: ImagineAR Launches New Mobile App SDK Including Global Augmented Reality Treasure Hunts, Rewards & Hints

“AR is seen as the cornerstone of the upcoming metaverse hypergrowth by providing interactive features and activations by layering digital content through your mobile phone. This content would be specific to a GPS location so that the individual could engage directly, ”Silverrstieen told Proactive.

Silverrstieen said the growth of virtual worlds and NFTs will be key parts of the metaverse, which means organizations need to start planning to engage their target market. “While virtual reality (VR) is another key part of the metaverse, it is a more singular exploration and journey compared to AR which is social and holistic in its delivery and experience,” he added.

According to James Hursthouse, CSO at AMPD Technologies (CSE: AMPD, OTCQB: AMPDF), a provider of high-performance computing solutions to multiple industry sectors.

“Participants will engage in the metaverse through virtual reality or augmented reality headsets – some predicting that AR, rather than virtual reality, so that the metaverse becomes an overlay to enhance our real-world experiences, will become the dominant form. “

Nextech AR Solutions Corp CEO Evan Gappelberg calls the metaverse “the rallying point for all technology.”

The company recently revealed its intention to rebrand itself as “Nextech AR Solutions, A Metaverse Company,” in order to better align itself with large companies like Facebook, Epic Games, Microsoft and Unity, all of which have made significant strides in the field. ‘space.

READ: Nextech AR Solutions renames itself as a full-fledged Metaverse company

“The metaverse will connect people, places and things. It’s the new Internet, enriched with 3D content in a “spatially living” world we already inhabit, ”Gappelberg told Proactive. “The only thing that gets Big Tech out of bed is billions of dollars in revenue. “

Facebook’s hope is that over the next decade, the metaverse will reach one billion people and host hundreds of billions of dollars in digital commerce. Some estimates are even more optimistic, putting the value of the sector at close to US $ 800 billion over the next few years.

Analyze the opportunity

With such impressive estimates, it’s no surprise that companies large and small are gearing up the technology needed to support the growth of the metaverse. And this represents an opportunity for investors.

The challenge is that it doesn’t quite exist yet. The basics are in place and more are starting to emerge, giving us an idea of ​​what the metaverse can look like.

ImagineAR recently developed and released its latest AR Cloud 2.0 which enables any business, organization or individual to instantly deliver any type of AR content to mobile phones at any physical location in the world. Content can include videos, images, portals, NFTs and access to virtual worlds, CEO Silverrstieen said.

“AR should be part of every business strategy today and beyond, as the metaverse grows globally and digital interaction and engagement generates revenue,” he said. -he explains.

The company maintains a portfolio of seven published patents that cover multiple new and growing uses for augmented reality games, where geolocation is a key part of gameplay – a major component of the metaverse.

The ImagineAR platform enables businesses to instantly publish digital content to specific locations for market consumption and can be integrated with any existing native mobile app. The technology will be available as an “app-less” WebAR platform in 2022.

“AR is a requirement for companies to become active participants in the metaverse,” said Silverrstieen. “While ImagineAR has focused on the sports and entertainment market, we plan to expand into other verticals including retail, healthcare, education and any other augmented reality opportunity. “

Canadian tech company AMPD recently announced plans to acquire Departure Lounge Inc, a metaverse initiatives company led by James Hursthouse. The Departure Lounge brings metaverse-related technology and content initiatives to the AMPD group of companies, building on the exceptionally strong foundation of technology and infrastructure expertise that AMPD has developed.

READ: AMPD Ventures Launches Private Placement For Total Proceeds Of Up To C $ 3.5 Million; signs a letter of intent regarding the potential acquisition of the departure lounge

“The metaverse requires huge amounts of high-performance computing and cloud infrastructure of the kind that AMPD specializes in,” Hursthouse said. “This allows most of the required processing to be done in data centers close to end users, who interact with content through ‘thin’ clients such as phones, displays and VR / AR headsets connected by 5G. . “

Nextech, meanwhile, creates 3D models that live in the metaverse: human holograms; avatar creation, NFT creation and others. Thanks to its ARways 3D spatial mapping technology, it is able to create an AR cloud where all of its content can ultimately live. CEO Gappelberg called it “the future of what everyone is going to experience.”

“For the metaverse to be meaningful, it has to be filled with content. A room with nothing in it doesn’t do much, ”said Gappelberg. “With the 3D content created by Nextech, this world is going to be much more interesting. “

Gappelberg cited two key ingredients needed to scale the metaverse: interoperability and open ecosystems. Nextech is creating a metaverse studio that will allow anyone to create their own space map and fill it with 3D resources. “It’s the metaverse for everyone, basically a creator’s platform,” he noted.

What’s next for the Metaverse?

For the metaverse to work, the tech industry must bring the same imagination and the same commitment to build for interoperability, openness, security and privacy, Mark Zuckerberg told viewers in his video. Of course, given Facebook’s recent public struggles with these same guiding principles, it remains to be seen how that plays out in the new Meta, Inc.

Fortunately, it won’t be just Meta to lead the world into the metaverse, with companies like ImagineAR, AMPD, and Nextech making space in the world of Web 3.0.

“AR should be part of every business strategy today and beyond, as the metaverse grows globally and digital interaction and engagement drives revenue,” said Silverrstieen from ImagineAR. “Companies today should be looking to take advantage of mobile augmented reality to engage their audiences and develop new market opportunities to lay the foundation for their ultimate metaverse strategy. “

Contact Angela at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas