In the first part, I dealt with investing possibilities in hardware that will take us to the metaverse. Today I will delve into other opportunities.
Software
The metaverse is going to be made of many souls. This implies an enormous variety of software that will be used for its construction and for its application in our lives.
We will need platforms to navigate, meet, and study. Or AR applications that can be easily customized by those who do not have the money to make their own. There are and will be games for PCs, consoles, mobile devices, VR, and AR.
And then there are the “tools” with which all of the above will have to be created, modeled, written, and programmed.
Let’s examine some companies here too.
Meta (Nasdaq: META) for Horizon Workrooms
Meta once again, for Horizon Workrooms, which stands as the first more or less functional attempt at a platform for virtual meetings. I won’t discuss this in detail, but I assure you that they are infinitely better than Zoom/ Meet/ Teams.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) for AltspaceVR
Microsoft again, because some time ago they bought AltspaceVR, a VR social platform that was on the verge of bankruptcy. This acquisition, as well as the launch of Microsoft Mesh, which should allow remote meetings with HoloLens (evolution of Microsoft Teams, in short), suggest a clear intention of the company to become an important player in the race to the metaverse, also for software.
Snap (Nasdaq: SNAP) for AR Filters
Snap’s augmented reality filters likely place it as one of the leading companies in the AR industry.
Unity (Nasdaq: U) for 3D Modeling and Animation Tools
This is one of the two main companies whose engines are used to model and animate 3D figures and avatars. It goes without saying that it will be very important in the metaverse corporate environment.
Roblox (Nasdaq: RBLX) for Decentralized Gaming Creation
Roblox owns a platform on which anyone can devise and publish their own game.
Infrastructure
A very important part in the adoption of immersive technologies will be played by infrastructure. Virtual and augmented reality can work even without a network. The virtual experience can be downloaded on the headset and work independently. The augmented reality app, once it is downloaded on the phone, works without connection.
But these are not ideal solutions. A real diffusion and adoption of the metaverse go through a powerful and ubiquitous internet network.
In addition to this, servers will be needed to “host” the supporting structures of the platforms, the contents, etc.
The companies that will therefore deal with the construction of this infrastructure are likely to have considerable room for growth.
And who could be the actors in this case?
Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL) for Servers
This might sound obvious, but all this amount of data must be stored somewhere. And the two giants own a lot of storage space.
Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC) for 5G
Ericsson possesses the strongest 5G patents portfolio (as per the company’s website), which makes the company an interesting alternative to Huawei, the Chinese competitor.
Starlink (unlisted) for the Satellite Network
Even though it is unlisted for now, a part of investing is looking for opportunities before they become common knowledge.
Metaverse and Investments, “In the Space”
At the beginning of Part 1, I mentioned another investment opportunity: the one within the metaverse.
As said it is not the main topic of this article.
However, I would like to briefly elaborate on this.
One of the characteristics of the metaverse is the new concept of digital scarcity. Through the blockchain, it is possible to create unique, non-repeatable, non-fungible digital objects, the infamous, hyper-hyped NFTs.
NFTs have a lot of applications. We have niches like profile photos or works of art, to more speculative ones such as avatar accessories, video game objects, and digital media.
All of this has a market and represents an investment opportunity, in some cases.
I do not recommend venturing into this area without proper training, first on how investments work in general (especially the psychological part), and then on the NFT topic specifically.
There is a lot, too much hype on the topic, and I am sure that 99% of the projects currently planned or already released, are at best destined to fail, if not real scams.
ATTENTION: The companies mentioned above are NOT to be considered investment advice (also because one is not really listed). These are just examples to better clarify what I mean.
Before investing, always remember to do your own analysis, or ask for advice from a professional advisor.
Guest PostAbout the Guest Author(s)
Andrea Roberto
Andrea Roberto was born in Italy, studied Eastern Asian Languages and Culture (Chinese + Russian) at University, and worked in China for 12 years. In 2017, he started the VR journey with Augmenta Srl. Andrea is passionate about languages (speaks 5 + 1), and has been studying marketing and behavioral science applied to marketing for two years. He’s a tech enthusiast but no nerd, focusing on the use of the tech, not on the tech itself.
