The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in a recently
released knowledge paper – “Metaverse and Emerging Opportunities” – highlighted
some interesting aspects of this massive opportunity that has the potential to
transform, inter alia, the way we work, study, communicate, entertain,
socialize, get healthcare and transact with each other. The following are some
excerpts from the FICCI paper that I believe are relevant for researching
Metaverse as an investment theme.
What is Metaverse?
Meta (Beyond – Greek Word) + Universe (English)
= Metaverse is an offering which provides users immersive and multisensory
experiences using futuristic technologies.
In technical terms, Metaverse is a network of
3D virtual worlds focused on social connections. It is a collective virtual
space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital
reality. It is an independent virtual economy, enabled by digital currencies
and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is device independent and is largely
democratized and not owned by a single vendor. Metaverse is built on a
combination of Blockchain, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 3D
hologram, and Video.
Metaverse allows people to enhance or mimic
their physical activities in the virtual space. This could mean transforming
the existing physical activities that one is doing or by transporting to a new
virtual world. Presently, multiple Metaverses are functioning independently
from each other, having a functionality of their own. However, as the concept
evolves, we shall see large Metaverses encompassing all the activities with
broad functionality, or even conglomerates of multiple Metaverses integrated
with each other.”
The opportunity size
A recent Citi report predicts that with 5bn
potential uses, the total addressable market for the Metaverse in B2B and B2C
segments could be between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030.
Gartner expects that by 2026, 25% of people
will spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse for work, shopping,
education, social media and entertainment. Metaverse is a trillion dollar
opportunity per year around 2030 onwards while it is a $60billion now in 2022.
On the B2B segment, some of the use cases
include:
·
Transformation of “Workspace
collaboration” with always ON conference/meeting rooms for global meetings,
conferences.
·
Talent acquisition, hiring and
onboarding taking a new dimension in Metaverse
·
Digital test run of products
and experience different options.
·
Learning, education, training,
skill development with avatars (manufacturing, factory setups will get good
leverage with this tech)
·
Healthcare (Telemedicine,
Therapies, Surgeries)
·
Defense (Training, On-boarding,
Recuperation, Simulation)
·
Real-estate, E-commerce
companies can have product demos, showcase and branding opportunities
·
Advertising will move to the
next level with a unique kind of storytelling experience for the audience using
360 videos and 3D technology.
B2C use cases for Metaverse include
·
Gaming and entertainment
·
Education, Learning, Skilling
·
Travel and Tourism
As a consumer I could already imagine a few
things like:
* No need for expansive showrooms for automobiles, electrical
appliances, electronics, watches etc. Virtual shopping malls could be equally
popular as the traditional shopping malls.
* Much less need to physically visit doctors for regular consultation.
* Much less frequency of business visits. Virtual conferences, book
launches.
* Lower frequency of visits to stadiums for watching games; or to
theatres for watching movies.
* No need for physical coaching/training centers.
* No need for builders to make a sample flat or employ a huge sales
team.
All of this essentially means less traffic on
roads and lesser use of air conditioning and therefore less pressure on the environment.
The present generation which is reasonably tech literate and is more
comfortable with virtual shopping, working and socializing could be hitched to
the Metaverses with broader functionalities.
Key concepts
The Metaverse is composed of many core elements
that are combined together to provide a whole new world to the users. These
technologies include eXtended Reality (XR), Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence
and the Internet of Things but are not limited to them.
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording transactions,
tracking assets and building trust. An asset can be tangible (a house, car,
cash, land) or intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights,
branding). Virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a
blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.
A non-fungible token
(NFT) uses the technology of blockchain to create something that is
unique and irreplaceable in the digital world.
A cryptocurrency,
crypto-currency, crypto, or coin is a digital currency designed to work as a
medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central
authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual
coin ownership records are stored in a digital ledger, which is a computerized
database using strong cryptography to secure transaction.
Artificial
intelligence (AI)
is the ability of a computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks
commonly associated with intelligent beings like humans.
The eXtended Reality (XR) is
a superset that covers Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality.
Virtual Environments are considered as synthetic or computer-based spaces.
The Internet of
Things (IoT)
is a network of people, devices, and services [2] that can sense, connect to
one another, make inferences, and act(uate) at scale. It is considered that
over 30 billion IoT devices are already deployed globally today.
No comments:
Post a Comment