Is Investing in the Metaverse the Next Big Thing?
Heard the word ‘metaverse’ being thrown around and don’t know what it is?
Is it the next huge investment opportunity?
Lets take a deep dive in, understand what the metaverse is, what it’s future could be and if it’s worth investing in.
Origins of the Metaverse
Lets start by looking at where the word ‘Metaverse’ came from, what it refers to and what it’s future could be.
Where Did the Word Metaverse Come From?
Going back in history we find the word ‘Meta’ originating as a Greek word for coming after or beyond. So what exactly are we going beyond then?
Well author Neal Stephenson had an idea when he wrote the novel ‘Snow Crash’ back in 1992. In his novel people use a digital avatar of themselves to explore a three-dimensional virtual world as a way of escaping their dystopian reality. This online world was called the ‘metaverse’, combining the Greek word ‘meta’ with the English word ‘universe’.
Until recently, the term was only used in the depths of techy nerd forums but has since exploded into the mainstream. Tech goliaths such as Mark Zuckerberg have seen enough potential to even change the name of Facebook to Meta and hire 10,000 workers to build their vision of it. Many others in the media, tech & entertainment worlds are considering it the next frontier of the internet.
What Actually is the Metaverse?
Think of our current experiences of browsing the internet, messaging friends on social media or watching videos on YouTube. It’s all very two dimensional, we interact with the screens in front of us but our level of immersion and interaction is limited.
The Metaverse takes our current experiences to the next step by putting you in the center of the action in a digital world. Here you can move around, interact and share your environment and the things within it with others in a three-dimensional virtual reality. This is an early form of what we’ve seen in the Matrix, Tron & Ready Player One movies, but there are a few features which will dictate its direction.
What are the Features of the Metaverse?
When it comes to features of the Metaverse two visions will be rolled out.
These are:
Centralised – Companies creating their own Metaverses including Meta, Microsoft & Disney will want to have control and the deciding vote in what users can and can’t do. From a user safety perspective this would appeal to parents allowing their kids to enter a Disney metaverse which is monitored or a company wanting a digital office with data security measures. Investors should keep an eye on the features companies offer.
Decentralised – This is where users as a collective can operate in the metaverse with no corporate or government control. The vision of this is as follows:
Boundless – In this digital space there are no boundaries to contend with. The three-dimensional space has no limits, neither are there limits to who can enter, how many can enter or what can or can’t be performed.
Decentralized – The metaverse will use blockchain technology so it will be owned by all users as opposed to a single or group of companies.
Always Active – Although the metaverse will evolve over time, it will always be on and can’t be reset.
Digital Economy – Cryptocurrencies can be used to buy and sell digital items such as virtual objects, NFT’s and tickets to events.
Immersion – The biggest draw of the metaverse is immersion in the world that’s available. It won’t just be your smartphone you can use for interaction but technology such as Virtual Reality headsets and Augmented Reality glasses.
Social experiences – At it’s core, the metaverse is about users experiencing, collaborating and creating within the metaverse itself. Much as the real world would be stale and unchanging if it had few inhabitants, it’s a world full of users which will bring it alive.
What Tech Will We Use to Enter the Metaverse?
When it comes to entering the metaverse two technologies will be key, these are Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets which are guaranteed to make you look a bit silly!
What’s the difference between the two then?
Well AR involves putting digital objects in the real-world environment. Using a headset with transparent lenses users can see their real-world environment but with digital visuals appearing like holograms.
VR on the other hand removes the real-world interaction completely and works within a totally computer-generated 3D digital environment.
As the metaverse gathers steam, expect more companies to develop equipment in this space. Investors will be keen to see who’s ahead in the tech race and can appeal to the most users, many large companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia are developing tech but it’s likely a couple will dominate the market share.
How Will We Use the Metaverse?
Let’s now look at the interesting bit, what amazing possibilities and experiences could be opened up by this new frontier!
As an investor we can consider how value might be created and where large profits could arise.
Here I’ll break down the use of the Metaverse into two primary avenues, the possibilities of digitising our physical world and the creation of totally new digital worlds.
Digitising Our Physical World:
Immersive Sightseeing – We’re used to paying for video content subscription services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, but new AR subscription services could be the next thing!
Currently the only way of visiting the Colosseum in Rome, the Louvre Art Gallery in Paris or walking the streets of Pompeii is to actually fly there and walk around, but that could be about to change! The use of advanced 3D scanning & reconstruction technology along with AI could reproduce a fully explorable and lifelike 3D digital twin for you to explore using a VR headset. These environments could be more immersive with interactive explanations of things that interest you as opposed to being stuck with a dull tour guide.
You could explore these environments with friends without annoying tourists blocking your view or needing to spend several hours in a queue to get in!
From an investing perspective it would be worth observing how this space unfolds as investing in the company which dominates this future market could be a great opportunity.
Immersive Sport Experiences – Image and laser technology could become advanced enough to 3D scan sporting events in real time and upload to the metaverse sports arena. No longer is your viewing angle determined by the view shown on TV or your seat in the stadium, you could step onto the virtual pitch, zoom in or go slow-mo!
VR Experience Venues – Venues offering VR experiences to play games with your friends have already started cropping up in cities. In the future these experiences could be even more immersive with a combination of VR headsets, treadmills, wind machines, 3D immersive audio, temperature controls and more.
Imagine a ‘Climbing Everest Experience’ with fans and a snow machine sending a blizzard your way, the room chilled to icy sub-zero temperatures and 3D audio providing the whistling wind 360 degrees around you. All as you ascend your virtual mountain on a snow-covered treadmill set at a steepening incline with a near perfect view presented on your VR headset.
Home Renovation/Decoration – Want to renovate your living room or kitchen but can’t decide if you’ll get the look you’re after. The future could involve scanning your environment and testing out digital alternatives in the metaverse. Could this lead to a boom in renovations and an opportunity for investors?
Games – The AR game Pokémon Go was among the first to merge the physical and digital worlds in a mobile game. Players began hunting down virtual Pokémon in real physical locations using a smartphone. With advancing AI and technology, these AR games are only going to get more immersive with players investing more time and money.
A New Digital World:
Virtual Homes – Imagine a digital home laid out the way you want it, a view of the sun setting over the sea and items within it expressing your identity in ways that may not even be possible in real life. With property prices in the real world at extreme highs, this could be the perfect place to escape if you can only afford a shoe box of an apartment. Friends could stick on a headset and join you for social experiences, even if they’re physically in another country or locked down due to a pandemic. Investors should consider how value will be created through the designing, building and trading of NFT’s.
Digital Workspaces – The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a huge change in the way we work with more people than ever are working from home. One of the downsides is arguably the ability to connect well with others when working remotely. The metaverse can provide digital collaborative spaces with virtual whiteboards and post it notes that people situated all over the world can participate in using their avatars. The Microsoft Mesh was unveiled in November 2021 and will be one of the first to make remote team meetings more collaborative and engaging.
Virtual Concerts – In 2020 Travis Scott made $20 million for doing a virtual performance in the videogame Fortnite. Virtual concerts have the potential to explode when taken to the next level with 360-degree cameras on stage and VR headsets to make you feel like you’re dancing on stage with your favourite bands.
Investing in the Metaverse
Now we’ve looked at how the metaverse could be used, lets look at some of the potential investment opportunities. As a disclaimer, these are my thoughts and opinions and should not be taken as investment advice. For advice specific to you, contact a financial advisor.
The Metaverse Stocks
When it comes to stocks, we can generally split them into two camps, companies building metaverses (creating services and content) & companies enabling metaverses (through technology), here we’ll look at both.
Here are some picks:
Nvidia – The company is dominating the graphics processing unit (GPU) market with an 83% market share according to Jon Peddie Research. GPU’s will be a crucial component for accessing the graphically demanding metaverse. Beyond this the company runs a development and simulation platform called the Omniverse which is serving as a foundation for the metaverse. At the time of writing the stocks price-to-earnings ratio is above 85, so it might be worth considering if this higher valuation is a result of the market already pricing in the future benefits.
Roblox – Most adults won’t have heard of Roblox (unless you have kids under 16) but it’s one of the worlds most popular games. Beyond being a game though, it’s a platform to create games and build a community, so kids have a reason to keep coming back. As an incentive for creators to build more content they can earn real money if the game they create becomes a hit with some of it’s 47.3 million daily users.
Facebook (Now Meta) – Facebook thinks so much about the potential of the metaverse that it’s changed its iconic name to Meta. The company has called it the next evolution of social connection and has unveiled plans to build a metaverse. Beyond this, Meta has the advanced Oculus VR headsets under it’s wing which could see an explosion in sales over the next decade as the tech goes mainstream.
Microsoft – With the rise of working from home resulting from the pandemic, the company found success in the rollout of Microsoft Teams for remote communication. As working from home stands to be a long-term change, the metaverse can be used to introduce more immersive meeting spaces which the company is now developing through introduction of Mesh. Microsoft is in a great position to capture the office metaverse and don’t forget it’s significant stake in gaming too which will no doubt play a major role.
Disney – Plans for a whole new world are being drawn up as Disney’s former vice-president of digital, Tilak Mandadi indicated on LinkedIn that a theme park metaverse could be on the cards. The company is considering having the “physical and digital world converge” using VR and mobile technology. It’s hard to imagine this being Disney’s only stab at the metaverse with all it’s high potential IP’s.
In November 2021 CEO Bob Chapek said:
“We’ll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling, without boundaries in our own Disney Metaverse”.
My Thoughts
With Goldman Sachs estimating that as much as $1.35 trillion will be invested by companies developing the metaverse, potential for investors is undeniably significant!
But whilst the opportunities are there, it’s very early days! A decade from now it’s likely many of the metaverse attempts being worked on will be expensive flops, but some will dominate.
With a growing anti-establishment & anti-corporation drive, it’s not yet known if consumers will prefer decentralised metaverses over offerings from big tech organisations. Even Facebooks name change to Meta is likely to be primarily driven by a need to rebrand due to bad publicity from unethical data usage. Consequently, companies such as Meta could find their metaverses shunned by users even if they offer desirable features. It’s societal factors such as these which investors need to consider.
One area I believe will become huge is the market for user-generated content within the metaverse. An entire virtual economy could be established with users designing items and environments and exchanging them in marketplaces. According to an article by Goldman Sachs, 20% of users of the Roblox experience change their appearance daily. When the avatar marketplace was turned over to the developer community there was a 250% increase in transactions, the demand is clearly there.
As the internet takes an evolutionary step to become a three-dimensional world, it will be exciting to see the new industries and companies that arise!
For more visit www.entrvest.com.
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