5 Opportunities For Startups Building The Metaverse
| 3 minutes read
When we talk about Metaverse, the first name that comes to our mind is Facebook, now known as Meta from October 2021. In simple terms, the Metaverse is a 3D virtual focused on social connections. It is a different world where you will see the different virtual life. It enhances the overall social relationships and takes to a new level the virtual world.
The multibillionaire companies and even startups are also very much focused on building the metaverse. Not only this, they are creating and buying the space in the meta world. So we can say there is a tremendous business opportunities in Metaverse.
Since then, we’ve seen a growing number of announcements by Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google about their plans to launch their virtual worlds. Even IT companies like Tech Mahindra and Infosys are also working on the technology. A report by Citi estimates the metaverse market size as up to $13 trillion in its broadest definition.
But where do startups play a role in building the metaverse? We embarked on research and went through a few reports published to answer that question. We found five opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups looking to add or build extra layers of the metaverse based on research.
Therefore, kindly read till the end. To understand how are startups building the metaverse?
1. Avatar Technology
While we’re still probably a decade away from realizing the vision of the metaverse, it’s clear that avatars will continue to play a vital role in virtual worlds: both in the consumer and enterprise use cases.
Many companies are working on improving avatar technology from 2-D solutions like synthetic video to real-time AR filters that convert the person into a digital clone. For instance, HourOne is a synthetic video creation platform enabling users to create high-quality videos based on virtual human or animated characters by typing text.
2. Virtual Fashion
Some analysts and reports refer to the metaverse as a $10 trillion opportunity, where much of it is driven by virtual goods purchases.
Within that, virtual fashion—ranging from gaming merchandise to luxury avatar apparel —plays a crucial role in helping brands create uniqueness online and drive new revenue streams from their designs.
3. Gaming
We all love to play games, but the gaming will go to the next level in the metaverse. American loves gaming, and for them, it is one of the most significant forms of entertainment.
Reports from Gartner, Inc. estimate that people will spend 1.5 hours a day in the metaverse, but the difference between mobile gaming today and metaverse gaming is tech and innovation. Play-to-earn models increase retention as players as they can earn by playing games; these games are engaging and enlarge the gaming experience. As a result, they create strong communities that bring new users every month.
Like Facebook gaming in the early days, virtual worlds like Sandbox, Horizons, Omniverse, Roblox, etc., can become productive grounds for gaming developers to build their following upcoming platforms.
4. Entertainment
From virtual music festivals watched by thousands of people instantaneously on Fortnite to virtual tourism in VR, the space of entertainment is about to reinvent the metaverse. Imagine how better the user experience can be, moving from 2-D to immersive, social, live entertainment.
Users will get an opportunity to buy the best viewing seats in the house for sporting events like cricket, football matches, or other events. In addition, entertainment startups that can deliver training or education via their content or delivery mechanism could see rapid adoption.
Overall, all we can say is we are at the very early stage of the metaverse; no company has built the perfect platform for the metaverse. All are in the early development, but companies had already entered the space and ensured to stay here. Startups will play a pivotal role in delivering the vision of a decentralized, free future internet.
5. Infrastructure
off-chain, On-chain, zero-trust intelligent contracts. These are just part of the infrastructure layer of the metaverse. Many Web2 services that worked for security, payments, or storage are reinvented for Web3, crypto, and 3-D content.
There are many opportunities for innovation in building Web3 and future metaverse tech stacks. Echo3D, CMS, and many others for 3-D content that powers gaming, retail, and AR/VR developers looking to manage their 3-D content across platforms seamlessly.
Bottomline
Overall, we are building and developing the metaverse in the early innings. We can’t even agree on exactly what the term means. But the sheer volume and level of talent and capital entering the space ensure that it’s here to stay. Startups will play a pivotal role in delivering the vision of a decentralized, free future internet.
Apple, Google, Samsung, Tesla, and many other companies collaborate with startups and develop the metaverse.
Recommended Post: 5 Biggest Technology Trends you Should Watch in 2022
Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.