In Brief:
- Facebook will invest $50 million to develop a metaverse responsibly over the next two years
- Facebook announced the project XR Programs and Research Fund
- Metaverse is the concept of the virtual world with no control of centralized platforms
In June, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is planning to become a “metaverse” company. Now, The social media giant announced its plan to invest $50 million to develop a metaverse platform in the next two years.
Today, Facebook announced the XR Programs and Research Fund. The aim behind this fund allocation is to develop its own project and for external research as the company explores the future of online social interactions. As per the blog, It’s a “Starting Point” for Facebook.
Metaverse is the Concept introduced by the crypto industry as decentralized projects attempt to create future online worlds and experiences without any control of centralized entities such as Facebook.
Metaverse is a virtual world, where users can share online space represented by 3D avatars with other users and interact with coexist avatars. Ethereum-based metaverse worlds such as Decentraland and CryptoVoxels already exist.
Recently, Snoop Dogg has made a partnership with the Upcoming metaverse game, The SandBox, where Snoop Dogg will organize virtual concerts and create events.
The Company has already done a lot of research in the AR/VR space.
The metaverse concept will give a unique and different experience in Social and Gaming in the entertainment sector. Along with this, many intellectuals assert that it will also help change the nature of work, and afford new digital economic opportunities to users around the world.
“We’ll work with experts in government, industry, and academia to think through issues and opportunities in the metaverse,” reads the official post. “We also need to involve the human rights and civil rights communities from the start to ensure these technologies are built in a way that’s inclusive and empowering.”
This initial partnership of Facebook includes the Organization of American States, Women in Immersive Tech, and African organizations Electric South, Africa No Filter, and Imisi 3D. The firm will also take advice from researchers at Seoul National University, The University of Hong Kong, and the National University of Singapore to develop an error-free metaverse.
In the Blog post, Facebook has made clear that they are going to develop the entire metaverse single-handedly. This investment is just part of the beginning process of the long-term process.
“The metaverse isn’t a single product one company can build alone,” the firm writes. “Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not. And it won’t be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realized in the next 10-15 years.”
