Who Is Still Inside The Metaverse?

Last year, Facebook changed its brand to Meta, signaling an evolution in their vision. They now embrace the potential of a 3D virtual world – known as the metaverse – as their ideal.

The metaverse is a futuristic vision of an integrated technological world that houses assets, transactions and identities. This requires trust as digital technologies become new platforms for business growth and brand reputation management.

Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands, a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and featured in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021, is an expert in digital entertainment, blockchain technology and gamification. Committed to upholding digital property rights and building the open metaverse, they create products and platforms that enable users to trade or exchange digital assets.

Animoca Brands remains a prolific investor in non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse companies, even during the crypto market’s downturn. Its holdings in Sky Mavis, Dapper Labs and OpenSea saw impressive growth throughout 2021.

Animoca Brands recently completed a $1.3 billion funding round for its new metaverse fund, Animoca Capital. The company plans to leverage this investment by bringing more well-known brands and IPs onto the blockchain. Furthermore, they intend to continue investing in NFT-related companies.

Nike

Nike has been a successful brand for decades, thanks to its effective marketing campaigns that helped it achieve high market share. Now a multibillion-dollar global force, Nike can invest in new products and technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

Nike is investing in artificial intelligence startups for improved product positioning and predictive customer shopping behavior. Furthermore, the company is discontinuing wholesale distribution and focusing on direct-to-consumer strategies.

Though Google Glass was a complete failure, there’s no denying the metaverse is having an exciting moment. According to McKinsey, 60% of consumers are eager to transfer their everyday tasks like shopping and working out into the metaverse.

Despite all of the hype, many major companies have yet to see a meaningful return from their investments in metaverse projects. While some, like Google and Amazon, have been able to build large user bases and make substantial profits off their investments, others are having difficulty making any money off them.

Walmart

Walmart (WMT) is taking its first foray into the metaverse, launching two immersive experiences with Roblox, a popular metaverse mega-platform among young kids. Walmart said its offerings would bring its ‘isles’ to life in the virtual realm.

Walmart Land’ is the first experience and will feature a Netflix trivia game, live music and virtual merchandise that mirrors real-life products sold at Walmart stores. Users can also play games, compete in fashion competitions and earn “verch” that can be used for purchasing virtual goods.

Walmart announced the second experience, “Universe of Play,” as an “ultimate toy destination” in the metaverse. Players will use hoverboards to explore a world filled with Sharper Image drones that will guide them toward toys.

Microsoft

The metaverse is the next generation of 3-D digital spaces that utilize virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to create lifelike online experiences. It’s what many computer engineers believe to be the next evolution of the internet, and it’s rapidly becoming a reality.

Yet despite all the excitement, much of the metaverse is still developing, including interoperability standards, bandwidth and other crucial elements. While some technology needed for its operation is rapidly progressing, others could take years or even never materialize.

VR goggles and motion-capture gloves are already affordable to consumers, yet they lack the technical capability necessary for most people to use them effectively. Even if they were more accessible, many lack the technical ability necessary to navigate VR environments with realistic expressions, body language and voice quality.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, is investing heavily in the metaverse and creating its own VR platform called Quest. Furthermore, Microsoft plans to sell NFT products that will enable users to purchase and trade virtual goods within the metaverse.