Meta profits up, metaverse still down

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🙌 Meta upbeat despite suffering metaverse

🎙️ Gamefam, Warner Music, and Roblox push virtual concerts forward

🪪 Metaverse holds hope for digital IDs yet espouse new privacy risks

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Meta upbeat despite suffering metaverse [Link]

Investors can breathe a sigh of relief as Meta reports an 11% YoY revenue growth, compared to the same period last year when Mark Zuckerberg’s company posted its 1st quarterly revenue drop.

Yet while beating earning expectations for Q2, Meta’s metaverse unit remains mired in a wider-than-anticipated loss, with the deficit expected to “increase meaningfully for another year.”

Where the metaverse stands from Meta’s vantage point:

• Meta’s Family of Apps division - including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp - drove greater revenue as ad impressions climbed 34%, the unit making $31.7B in revenue - up 12% YoY.

• Reality Labs, which comprises its metaverse and VR operations, lost $3.73B, slightly higher than the expected $3.68B and wider than $2.8B in the past year.

• There will be higher metaverse expenses from “ongoing product development efforts in augmented reality/virtual reality and investments to further scale our ecosystem.”

Analysts worry over the low engagement for the Horizons Worlds. Yet in the earning’s call, Zuckerberg says they “remain fully committed to the metaverse vision,” adding its focus is a combination of AI and the metaverse.

Gamefam, Warner Music, and Roblox push virtual concerts forward [Link]

LA-based metaverse game developer Gamefam makes a case for a scaled-up music metaverse as it collaborates with Roblox and Warner Music Group (WMG) for an upcoming VR concert and taps into the tech for immersive musical experiences.

The partnership brings Bebe Rexha to the metaverse in her 1st-ever Roblox concert on July 28, Friday. Fans, according to Gamefam, could attend the virtual concerts “to experience her music when they might not get the chance to in real life,” while Bebe Rexha herself could “reach a massive community of new fans” via the virtual show.

Gamefam used traditional optical motion-capturing devices to communicate the artist’s face, body language, and dance moves - a move seen to make metaverse concerts feel “real and personal.”

Gamefam operates the largest network of Roblox metaverse games worldwide, amassing 25M daily game sessions.

Metaverse holds hope for digital IDs yet espouse new privacy risks [Link]

To shop and interact in virtual worlds, billions worldwide need a digital identity, for which digital ID tech will be necessary, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). This means the metaverse may be a new avenue to provide identity to those who don’t currently exist in ID systems, fostering new inclusivity in education, finance, and other industries.

Yet this same mechanism - where VR and AR devices will collect biometric data - can expose users to new privacy risks.

XR devices can capture details such as voice, iris, pupil movements and gaze, gait and other body movements, location information, device information, and identifiers. Paired with biometric ID systems such as facial or voice recognition, individuals in the surrounding area can get exposed without their knowledge or consent.

Trade-offs to data privacy, according to experts, must be considered, and complications around cybercrime, financial crime, and other abuse potentially arising from creating multiple IDs should be discussed.

Shanghai bares metaverse blueprint [Link]

Shanghai’s city government reveals the blueprint that will assist the boost among sectors using blockchain, the metaverse and its digital yuan or central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Some key targets in the plan:

• Building suite of blockchain-based platforms for trading commodities

• Creating a carbon accounting system to improve the current carbon trading system, alongside a monitoring and statistics system anchored on the blockchain.

• Extending the application of existing metaverse investment from culture and tourism to legacy industries

• Teaching blockchain courses at universities for “customized training”

The mega Chinese city is currently eyeing a $7B gain from its metaverse investments in tourism, and has set a 5-year plan released last year leveraging the metaverse and other new tech for economic growth.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Gamers are invited to experience the future of gaming interactions as AI consciousness gets integrated into NPCs. (Link)

• Validators within crypto ensure that transactions are verified correctly, allowing blocks to be added. See how Ubisoft as a validator for the Cronos blockchain can shape industry innovation. (Link)

• Xbox VP Sarah Bond unveils a program to assist military people transition from service to the gaming industry. (Link)

• Mobile game Legends of War will see its blockchain-enabled version soon, with NFTs added in to create its own economy. (Link)

• Solana gaming franchise Aurory ventures into Ethereum’s layer 2 Arbitrum to diversify the gaming horizons. (Link)

• Malta surges to 5th place in technical games research, outpacing Google and Meta in innovation. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Luxury mason Gucci gifts its custodians of Material NFTs with exclusive, tangible delights: iconic bags and purses. (Link)

• Lacoste introduces a cutting-edge virtual store offering exclusive benefits to Ethereum NFT holders. (Link)

• Lotte’s virtual model Lucy expands into Thailand’s live commerce market via Lazada, targeting the young ones. (Link)

• MNTGE reveals a state-of-the-art patchwork collection fusing digital fashion and NFTs with real-world perks. (Link)

• IMVU’s self-minting service empowers users to design, sell, and monetize NFTs in digital fashion independently. (Link)

• Shopify takes online shopping to the next level with the launch of AI-powered Commerce Assistant. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• LVMH becomes a premium sponsor of 2024 Paris Olympics, nearing a $1.38B (€1.24B) sponsorship target. (Link)

• Mobile golf game Golfzon M gets an upgrade with new modes and country clubs for an immersive time. (Link)

• GenAI introduces game-changing intelligent coaching tech at AWS Summit NYC. (Link)

• PGA Tour offers virtual reality experience for fans to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs. (Link)

• The E&Universe metaverse unveils unique zones for virtual personalized home sports. (Link)

• Drone Racing League and US Air Force team up to empower STEM careers. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Netflix lists a $900K AI project manager job amid twin Hollywood strikes. (Link)

• The Barbie movie dominates social media and the airwaves: 3 lessons from its use of AI. (Link)

• WhatsApp extends its Channels feature to 7 countries for enhanced broadcasting. (Link)

• Unprecedented demand for Bored Ape ice cream NFT causes a website crash. (Link)

• A look at Samsung’s multiverse of moves in the metaverse. (Link)

• On his 50th anniversary, see Bruce Lee get immortalized in BYTE CITY metaverse. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Reddit’s polygon NFT collectible avatars Gen-4 sells for a whopping $18M. (Link)

• Ethereum generative art challenger Highlight emerges to take on the Art Blocks platform. (Link)

• Ducati roars into the NFT world with XRP Ledger integration. (Link)

• NFT artist Beeple’s $29M sculpture Human One gets exhibited in the US for the 1st time at the Crystal Bridges Museum. (Link)

• Binance introduces the Bixel AI NFT generator, enabling custom artwork creation amid KYC verification and minting fee measures. (Link)

• Vera Molnar NFT auction at Sotheby’s sets a new record, surpassing $1.2M in sales. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Google and Microsoft engage in an intense AI showdown. (Link)

• Alibaba Cloud enables Chinese businesses to utilize Meta’s AI model llama, a 1st for local enterprises. (Link)

• 73% global consumer trust in generative AI content for finance, healthcare, and relationships. (Link)

• Amazon rolls out the AI-enabled AWS Healthscribe for accurate patient conversation transcription and analysis among clinicians. (Link)

• 7 ways AI can help make kids digitally responsible. (Link)

• Spotify CEO Daniel Ek unveils plans for AI-driven personalization, podcast summaries, and enhanced ad generation. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Aethir concludes a pre-A funding round at a $150M valuation to propel decentralized cloud infrastructure expansion. (Link)

• Spaceport teams up with Intella X to provide direct access to an extensive licensed IP catalog for gaming and metaverse developers. (Link)

• Sky Play secures $10M investment from LDA Capital to expand blockchain gaming ventures. (Link)

• Clarity AI and Aspiration team up to provide consumers with sustainability assessment solutions for measuring carbon footprint. (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.

📈 If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse 📈

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