The metaverse is one of the hottest buzzwords in tech, and this far-reaching vision of a next-gen internet will rely upon an entire ecosystem of companies to make it a reality. We cut through the noise to explain what the metaverse is, how it’s being built, and who’s building it.
The business world is obsessed with “the metaverse”: the concept of shared worlds driven by virtual products and digital experiences that are highly immersive and interactive.
We already have virtual worlds featuring live concerts and online games where players spend hundreds of hours — but metaverse enthusiasts see a future where entire societies thrive in an online realm inhabited by avatars of real people.
While the space is still in early days, the longer-term implications may not be trivial. Some users — especially younger ones — may eventually earn, spend, and invest most of their money in digital worlds. The metaverse could represent a $1T market by the end of the decade, according to CB Insights’ Industry Analyst Consensus.
This dollar potential has caught the attention of players across industries. Facebook rebranded to “Meta” late last year, and earnings call mentions of the metaverse rose 4x year-over-year in Q4’21. Media discussion surrounding the topic has similarly surged, as news outlets have speculated whether the metaverse — and the emergence of full-fledged virtual economies, complete with property ownership, corporate offices, fashion seasons, and more — is poised to become the next big thing in tech, or if it’s hugely overhyped.
The metaverse is a vision, not a specific technology. For enterprises, this ambiguity can make it challenging to figure out how to tap into the emerging trends the metaverse represents.
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Continue reading here: The Metaverse Could Be Tech’s Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity: These Are The Companies Making It A Reality