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Overview & Market size
Use cases
Covid-19 impact
Market map
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Funding history
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Incumbents
Notable Investors
Metaverse Experience Platforms
Overview
The metaverse is an integrated network of interactive and persistent virtual worlds that is considered to be the next universal iteration of the internet. The concept is centered around delivering a greater immersive experience through additional dimensions (e.g., enhanced interactions via VR/AR and haptic solutions) to interact with information and other users. The metaverse experience platforms refer to interactive and persistent virtual worlds/environments that are hypothesized to integrate and form the user-experience layer of the metaverse, facilitating activities such as collaborative remote working, education/training simulations, gaming, and social interaction.
Although the metaverse concept calls for the interoperability of all platforms, until recently, they operated in relative isolation. The creation of open standards to solve the issues associated with the interoperability of digital assets and identities across platforms are still a work in progress. Metaverse experience platforms are enabled via core technologies such as extended reality, the blockchain, cloud/edge computing, and 5G. Furthermore, the growing share of Gen Z consumers and their income levels, monetization opportunities for creators, and significant enterprise interest are likely to drive the industry forward.
Industry Updates
Market Sizing
The metaverse experience platforms market in the US could reach USD 26 billion–53 billion by 2026.
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Use cases
Between 2020 and 2022, there was a notable surge in metaverse activity, with brands from various industries, particularly consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and information technology, launching experiences on popular platforms. This included the textiles, apparel and luxury goods, personal products, and software subsegments for their respective industries.
The primary use cases revolved around marketing and remote work, as the metaverse offered a unique opportunity for brands to engage younger demographics through immersive experiences and virtual spaces that facilitated remote collaboration, enhanced team cohesion, and streamlined communication efforts.
We have identified key MEP use cases below:
COVID-19 IMPACT
Market Mapping
Disruptors in the industry operate in six distinct segments, with work platforms seeing the most number of startups, followed by pure-play gaming and social platforms. Social gaming platforms and pure-play social platforms have the highest number of growth-stage disruptors. They are also the two highest-funded segments (September 2022), as they have been growing for relatively longer, offering traditional gaming and virtual social experiences before becoming metaverse contenders. The vast majority of disruptors are pure-play disruptors, while the likes of Roblox and Animoca Brands have diversified across gaming and social platforms.
The work platforms segment has the most incumbent activity, while Meta and Microsoft also have a significant presence in the gaming and social platforms segments through partnerships and acquisitions. Meta—being the most vocal advocate for the metaverse since its rebranding in October 2021—is the leading player in terms of metaverse activity.
The Disruptors
Funding History
Incumbents
Meta leads the charge with other Big Tech players on its tail
In contrast to disruptors with a strong presence in the pure-play gaming and social platforms segments, in-house offerings of incumbents are primarily focused on enterprise use cases. Meta—having spent USD 10 billion on its metaverse ambitions in 2021—leads the charge with Horizon Workrooms for enterprises and has a presence in all segments through its in-house products: Horizon Venues, Horizon Worlds, and Meta Avatars Store. Other notable metaverse work platforms include Microsoft Mesh and Amazon’s AWS Cloud Quest. In the digital avatars segment, Meta offers its Meta Avatars Store, which functions as a marketplace to purchase apparel for metaverse avatars to be used on Horizon Worlds, while NVIDIA offers its Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) for the creation of digital avatars.
The vast majority of incumbent partnerships and M&A activity is related to gaming and social platforms. Notable acquisitions include Meta’s acquisition of Within, the AR/VR game developer behind the popular VR workout app, Supernatural, for USD 400 million (February 2023). Additionally, Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media (September 2020) for USD 7.5 billion and Mojang (September 2014) for USD 2.5 billion are other significant activities in the space.
Notable Investors
