Meta Quest ecosystem stats leaked?🕵️📈
Meta Quest ecosystem stats leaked?🕵️📈
Also this week: The Pico G3 VR headset is announced, Emmanuel Macron backs EU Metaverse plan, and Meta criticised by child protection advocacy groups.
Good morning Metaverse Business Brief readers. Let’s jump into the most relevant news from the immersive world in our weekly roundup.
Top Stories
Meta Quest ecosystem statistics leaked. A report into the Meta Quest ecosystem, released by the Wall Street Journal, suggested that as of October 2022 the Meta Quest device had 6.37 million monthly active users, while the game Beat Saber was suggested to have generated over $255 million in revenue with nearly 1.5 million active players. According to a Meta spokeswoman, As of February 2023, over 200 of the now 500 plus Quest Store apps had generated more than $1 million dollars.
Pico G3 VR headset announced. Pico unveiled the G3, successor to the G2, at the Laval Virtual conference. The 3DoF headset is thought to be tailored to the corporate market, with businesses in industries like healthcare, education and training likely to be in the market for the device. Features include a Snapdragon XR2 processor, 128GB of storage, and 6GB of RAM with a 4k resolution display. Pre-orders opened on April 12th with shipping beginning in early May.
French government publish Metaverse consultation. Information released by the French Economic Ministry suggests that the government of Emmanuel Macron wish to limit the dominance of global tech giants. This is all being done in a bid to create what it calls “digital sovereignty” for Europe, a term which suggests more support for smaller domestic actors in the metaverse. Macron has been keen to introduce such technology within the EU, urging the need for a European Metaverse in his 2022 election campaign.
Meta criticised by child protection advocacy groups. The latest storm to hit Meta and Mark Zuckerberg comes in the form of a coalition of advocacy groups and experts on child safety, who have signed a collaborative letter after taking issue with Meta’s forthcoming plan to encourage minors to access Horizon Worlds. It is suggested that Meta wait for peer-reviewed research on metaverse risk before introducing teens and children to the virtual world platforms.
In Funding
SentiAR close $8.5 funding round. The US based company have raised the capital to launch additional partnerships and wider clinical deployments as they look to advance their product, which is an AR visualisation technology platform for use in medical procedures.
Social Future raise $6 million. The AI-driven social metaverse companies aim is to create a social experience laden with phygital interaction, immersive content, and self-sovereign communities. The organisation has a product, MAY, which enables these immersive social experiences with personalised avatars.
Mojo Vision raise $22.4 million in series A round. The company, originally known for their work in the field of smart contact lenses, will use the finance to move into the field of Micro-LED displays for use in consumer, enterprise and government spaces. The organisation have form for in-house displays, with their lauded prototype smart contacts using them.
Keep an eye on
MoD award funds to digital led stealth fighter. £656 million has been provided to BAE systems as they look to develop concepts and technology for what is dubbed the ‘Tempest’ fighter jet. Due to launch by 2035, BAE have previously announced that the craft will likely boast AR and VR systems in a ‘wearable cockpit’ which will replace traditional physical controls.
IMVU and Nadya Tolokonnikova combine for Metaverse experience. Social VR app IMVU has also partnered with blockchain tech firm MetaJuice. Nadya, better known as the creator of the art and activism group ‘Pussy Riot’, will front the project dubbed “Utopia: A Virtual Haven for All” which contains a virtual world and NFT collection.
Shiba Inu’s Metaverse to release in 2023. The “Shib: The Metaverse” project is set to expand the utility of the ecosystem of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, with developers suggesting the virtual world will be open in December 2023. However, devs were also quick to note that the full experience won’t be available off the bat, with the project deemed to be an ongoing process.
Porsche collaborate with Microsoft using HoloLens 2. The German car manufacturers North American Division announced that it collaborating with Microsoft to utilise HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Guides to enhance it’s skilling, training and customer experiences. The move proves to be a major partnership for Microsoft as they look to prove Hololens 2 as being worthy of its place within the industrial metaverse.
Events to be at
April 23 Beijing | World Metaverse Expo
May 09 Online | Insights Live: Human Progress and the Programmable World
May 17 London | EdTech World Forum 2023
June 13 Online | Insights Live: Metaverse vs Web3: A Convergence?
July 11 Online | Insights Live: The Importance of Inclusivity and Diversity within the Metaverse
November 30 Rotterdam | The 7th International VR Awards
–
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments and your thoughts on the ‘EU Metaverse’ to team@aixr.org.
April 17 2023 Edition - Issue 15