Improbable’s MSquared metaverse

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🎯 Improbable bares its grand metaverse plans

🇨🇳 China’s metaverse to fuel real-world economy

💵 Siemens invests $2B in the industrial metaverse and China

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Improbable bares its grand metaverse plans [Link]

The London-based, SoftBank-backed startup Improbable isn’t holding back in revealing its metaverse development plans, rivaling the likes of Meta and Microsoft for these multibillion-worth virtual worlds.

Dubbed as MSquared, its “network of interoperable web3 metaverses” has the following key details so far:

• As 3D spaces where people can live, work and interact with each other virtually, MSquared will involve metaverse owners, content creators, service providers and users.

• MSquared will be accessible via cloud streaming, so users won’t have to download any software to jump into one of its worlds.

• It will be a separate business entity from Improbable, raising $150M from investors in 2022.

• Japanese cloud gaming firm Ubitus will serve as technical partners for the launch, delivering the cloud infrastructure, cloud pixel streaming, and video and audio tech.

Improbable is among Japanese tech investor SoftBank’s biggest stakes in the UK, with grand ambitions to develop large-scale computer simulations and “synthetic environments.”

China’s metaverse to fuel real-world economy [Link]

China’s national strategy today involves metaverse development, where dozens of cities and provinces release ambitious roadmaps to adopt this digital world in real-world industries.

Despite varying economic conditions, regional governments - from Beijing to Shanghai or Jinan to Zhengzhou - appear to frontline similar or the same ambitions, from “introducing at least 100 metaverse companies” or “building at least 30 exemplary metaverse use cases.”

What may not be apparent is the country’s interest in the metaverse primarily lies in its benefits to real-world industries, such as:

• BMW’s industrial metaverse built by AI frontrunner Nvidia, which provides a digital replica of the auto giant’s production line for testing and optimizing its performance at a lower cost

• Liquor maker Kweichow Moutai and tech giant NetEase launching a winery-themed metaverse and issuing liquor bottle-linked NFTs

The metaverse influences supply chain: Study [Link]

A joint study conducted by Nokia and EY sheds light on the impact of enterprise and industrial metaverses on supply chain operations.

Surveying 860 company executives across the automotive, industrial goods, transportation, and other industries across countries, the study unveils compelling findings on the tangible benefits already experienced by organizations in the industrial metaverse:

• Business value: 80% of early adopters say use cases tested will have a “significant” or even “transformative” impact.

• Substantial benefits in capital expenditure (15%), sustainability (10%), and safety (9%).

• The US (65%) and UK (64%) lead in terms of experience, with respondents saying they had fully deployed at least one use case, while Asia-Pacific is less advanced (Japan, 49%; South Korea, 49%).

• Cloud computing (72%), AI/ML (70%) and network connectivity (70%) are seen as the most important technical enablers to metaverse use cases.

Siemens invests $2B in the industrial metaverse and China [Link]

Siemens' bold move toward digital transformation and global expansion reflects in its $2.17B (€2B) investments planned for 2023, with a significant portion allocated toward the expansion of its digital factory in Chengdu, China.

With $150M allocated for the digital factory expansion in Chengdu and a new factory in Singapore incorporating Siemens' digital twin and innovative hardware tech, the company recognizes the immense potential of these regions as key drivers of future growth.

Siemens also has partnered with Microsoft to leverage Teams, OpenAI, and Siemens' Industrial Edge for manufacturing workflows, underscoring its use of new tech to optimize operations and enhance productivity.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• On Twitch, wacky indie game Only Up is loaded With Goblintown NFT art. (Link)

• Apple Vision Joystick Pro Max: how a touch controller for the Apple Vision Pro will optimize metaverse gaming. (Link)

• Japanese company Thirdverse touts its F2P X8 VR multiplayer hero shooter and uses virtual reality games as part of its path to the metaverse. (Link)

• Microsoft confirms it’s no longer actively developing 1st-party games for the Xbox One. (Link)

• Offchain Labs is building Xai as a Layer 3 blockchain platform for games. (Link)

• Will the Astar 2.0 Vision succeed in delivering web3 mass adoption to billions of users? (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and other 3D creation tools will virtualize LVMH's fitting rooms, runway shows, and 360 product carousels. (Link)

• Swedish-American brand BLK DNM integrates blockchain-powered hardware and software into its products via BLK DNM Society. (Link)

• Balmain boosts its order management via the Fluent Order Management across its e-boutiques to improve the online customer experience. (Link)

• Up close and personal with Fernando Penhos Zaga, Mexico-based metaverse fashion photographer. (Link)

• Virtual influencers are shaking things up in the world of NFTs and fashion. (Link)

• The metaverse is making luxury handbags and video games strange bedfellows. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Fedcom Media taps AI sports video tech firm WSC Sports for 3 years to enhance basketball content on its OTT platform Skweek. (Link)

• AI makes things interesting in Mississippi State football’s 2024 SEC opponents reveal - and the result goes viral. (Link)

• Immersive content may help improve athlete training, with VR and AR simulating real-life game situations for better skills and strategies in a controlled environment. (Link)

• EA Sports PGA Tour is having a free play weekend and goes live with update 4.0, which adds the Los Angeles Country Club as a new playable course. (Link)

• Digital sports platform Fanatics acquires Fexpro, a wholesaler and licensed sports and branded apparel, in its bid to expand in Latin America. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg green-lights lowering the age limit for the use of VR headsets in the metaverse. (Link)

• Metasport Arena partners with London-based music company Soundpickr in what it dubs the 1st sports and entertainment crypto-based metaverse. (Link)

• Decentraland and Polygon host an NFT music festival in the metaverse. (Link)

• Google and OpenAI negotiate landmark deals to pay publishers over using content to train generative AI models. (Link)

• Popstar Charlie Puth reveals AI-assisted 4-pointer warm-up routine for on-stage performances. (Link)

🖼 Art

• 3AC-owned NFT artwork Ringers #879, aka The Goose, sells for over $6.2M at Sotheby’s Grails: Part II live auction. (Link)

• Artist duo Dejha Ti and Ania Catherine create a generative choreography method for their Human Unreadable digital art collection. (Link)

• Could the blockchain change the face of watch trading? Arcade.xyz and 4K protocol think so. (Link)

• IRL Art and Christie’s Auction House collaborate to host an exhibition and virtual auction to support the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Conference. (Link)

• 10 times the movies have promoted the metaverse and NFTs. (Link)

🤖 AI

• AMD debuts the MI300x AI chip to challenge Nvidia. (Link)

• AI will likely fall short of human-like cognition unless connected to robots and designed with evolutionary principles. (Link)

• Alchemy’s new GPT-4 plugin harnesses AI to deliver user-friendly, real-time blockchain analysis. (Link)

• AI can support architects but sans ethics and empathy. (Link)

• Gmail introduces the AI-fueled “Help me write” feature. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Military contractor Primer announces $69M to build AI for “those who support and defend our democracy.” (Link)

• Blackbird lands $20M investment to expand its risk management tools. (Link)

• SG’s Decentralised Gaming Ventures secures a 7-figure investment from a Korean venture fund. (Link)

• Poko (Pokoapp.xyz), a Y Combinator-backed SG web3 startup, announces completing $4.5M in seed round funding. (Link)

• A new partnership between NLLPA and Metavarsity looks to revolutionize fantasy sports. (Link)

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

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