Because of COVID-19, we have accelerated by five to seven years in the digital revolution. We rely on technology more than ever, and there is no doubt that it is our future. The growing digital footprint in our daily lives has advanced the spread of virtual communities around the world. And now, the next stage in this evolution is here.
The Metaverse. When the term made its popular culture debut—in the pages of 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash—it conjured up a futuristic 3D version of the internet populated by digital twins of real-world people, places, and objects.
Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the Metaverse is ambitious, all-encompassing, and real. By blending the physical and the digital, today’s Metaverse is set to transform everything—products, possessions, events, creation, wellbeing etc.—into virtual assets.
To materialize the concept into existence, Facebook (now Meta) committed USD10 Bn in 2021 alone.1 And they were far from the only ones. Investors have been flooding the market as big names like Google, Microsoft, Unity Software and Apple start to build out products for work and communication. For instance, Hyundai Motor has announced a partnership with Unity to jointly design and build a Meta-Factory, a Metaverse-based digital-twin factory. The partnership will enable smart manufacturing, AI training and study as well as autonomous driving simulation.
The key to successfully exploiting the Metaverse in this way lies in digital maturity. After all, the Metaverse is the coming together of emerging technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and AI.
Here’s why you should be excited about it
The Metaverse will define the Web 3.0 era and spawn a whole new generation of services, business models and even lifestyles. With 4.66 billion active internet users globally,2 one can only imagine the unending possibilities. Here’s where I think it will make the biggest impact:
- New lines of virtual products and possessions
Now that consumers are increasingly replicating their real-world activities in the virtual realm, businesses are raring to invest in digital assets. Think virtual digital stores, augmented shopping experiences and the like. Take the success of Burberry’s first NFT collection with Blankos Block Party, Gucci’s Garden Metaverse with Roblox and the Dyson virtual ecommerce store for hair care products. - Enhanced precision with medical Metaverse
In August 2021, Revery raised USD2 Mn in funding to improve mental health with mobile gaming techniques. Already, VR technology is helping train doctors and medical staff, by taking learners within the human body and exploring the patient’s unique anatomy in 3D or replicating procedures practiced in real world. Complex surgeries like removal of cancerous tumors or spinal surgery are other areas where these technologies can be a whip hand to operate with precision. Applying immersive tech innovatively to healthcare is a massive opportunity for the Metaverse to take care beyond the clinic, while addressing training and access-related challenges. - More collaboration and holographic meetings
Morgan Stanley peg the new Metaverse market at a staggering USD8 Tn, as international businesses explore new ways to communicate through limitless AI-powered avatars in shared workspaces. Corporations, large educational institutes and research establishments plan to create virtual campuses and offices to conduct meetings, conferences and product launches for customers. Microsoft is partnering with Meta to create a Facebook-like workplace by integrating Microsoft Teams into the Workplace platform. This integration will allow employees using Teams or Workplace to view, comment, and react to meetings in real-time, without switching between apps. There’s also bound to be an explosion of jobs specific to the Metaverse. - More power in the hands of individuals
Generations Alpha and Z are all about creative self-expression, customization and exploration. Today, anyone can sell their work using NFTs, which are simply unique digital assets that represent non-fungible assets such as property, land, works of art, paintings, video games and even memes. The owner of an asset can claim its authenticity through a blockchain-based token certificate, which can later be sold. The proprietors of digital works manage revenues by selling their works using these NFTs. Not only do NFTs provide artists with more control over their art, but also the ability to track where royalties should go, incentivizing them to use the Metaverse to better control and monetize their craft. Similarly, Metaverse Properties—the world’s first virtual real estate company—offers land in premium locations for individuals, enterprises, and institutions to create, experience, and monetize their content and applications. Users can buy land for conferences or commercial spaces, art galleries, family homes, and hangout spots.
- Secure communication in an increasingly hostile environment
Being decentralized and distributed means there is no single point of failure in the Metaverse’s blockchain technology, making it much harder to corrupt. Blockchain technology is based on cryptography, which generates an unchangeable record of transactions that can’t be tampered with. And NFTs are represented by unique cryptographic tokens that further add a layer of security and ensure that each asset is tracked and verified. This guarantees that virtual transactions are cryptographically secure and trustworthy.
So, the Metaverse has a lot going for it. But, are we ready?
Much of the fascination and curiosity around the Metaverse is rooted in the tech underlying it. The how’s-and-how-to’s of a creative, decentralized and immersive social universe that will soon transform everything from schoolroom lectures and remote doctor consults to shopping for real estate. And gaming, of course.
This shouldn’t be too much of a leap for us, considering how quickly the ground beneath our feet has already begun to shift. And I am not just referring to the digital readiness it calls for, considering the Metaverse will be a heady mix of blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Digital twins and advanced data management systems. There’s also the fact that meme-coins and NFTs are taking hold in our lexicons and asset portfolios, which is already leading us down the path of progressive virtualization and decentralization. These are our one-way ticket to the Metaverse, and the change is already all around us.
Take Lil Nas X’s concert on popular children’s game Roblox, which attracted 33Mn viewers in November 2020. Meanwhile, a patch of virtual real estate in Decentraland sold for a record USD2.4 Mn worth of cryptocurrency last week. A few days later, a mega yacht sold for around USD650K, making it the most expensive NFT ever sold in The Sandbox virtual world. Sotheby’s, renowned 277-year-old arts auction house, will be the first to accept bids in Ether, a cryptocurrency, in a live auction for two pieces created by well-known artist Banksy. Sales of NFT-based artwork have surged, hitting a record USD8.2 Mn in December last.3
In fact, some giant names are exploring the Metaverse as significant piece of their brand strategies, especially luxury fashion brands. Here are a few examples:
- Gucci – The fashion house hosted a unique virtual garden exhibit in collaboration with Roblox to sell several rare Gucci items on the Roblox platform.
- Louis Vuitton – Capitalizing on the Metaverse, Louis Vuitton developed Louis The Game, a video game that combines the fashion house’s heritage, innovation, and NFT art during the celebration of its genesis.
- Snoop Dogg’s properties, based out of The Sandbox is continuously expanding. In fact, someone recently bought a land in Metaverse paying USD450K to become Snoop Dogg’s neighbour.
As this wave grows and people begin to spend more time online, Web 3.0 will become the new hangout—a digital third space in a 3D user-generated virtual space, where users can interact, share and work as avatars. As with all technology at its fledgling stage, we may encounter feelings of excitement mixed with trepidation. How we can regain control is to first understand it better—then we can take hold of the reins and explore all the potential presented to us.
All opinions expressed in this blog are personal and do not reflect any other policy or position.
1 Forbes, “Facebook Expects Metaverse Project Will Cost At Least $10 Billion—In 2021 Alone” (Oct 25, 2021)
2 Statista, “Global digital population as of January 2021” (Sep 10, 2021)
3 Coin Desk, “NFT Art Sales Reached All-Time High of $8.2M in December” (Jan 2, 2021)
