UK blocks Microsoft’s metaverse

🔮 Metaproof

Metaproof is a media company that covers the business of the metaverse. We keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing YOUR industry.

✨ Top Picks

The Future, today. In just 3 minutes.

1/ Microsoft’s metaverse push blocked by UK officials

Today the UK, through its Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), decides to block Microsoft’s $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which builds the foundation for its metaverse.

A brief history of the deal:

• Microsoft first announced its acquisition in 2022, when chair and chief exec Satya Nadella touted the gaming industry as having a “key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”

• The sale marks the tech company’s attempt to expand Activision Blizzard’s gaming operations across PCs, mobiles, consoles, and the cloud.

Why did the CMA block the deal?

It cited a competition concern in the cloud gaming marketplace, raising the possibility of Microsoft stifling competition by exclusively releasing popular titles like Call of Duty on its Games Pass digital application storefront.

What is Microsoft’s response?

“Committed” to appeal the acquisition blocker, Microsoft is trying to tackle competition concerns through:

• Ensuring that the cross-distribution of gaming applications benefits the firm and negates exclusivity options

• Offering rival publishers Sony, Nintendo, and Nvidia a 10-year agreement to keep Call of Duty on each firm’s respective storefront.

2/ Metaverse division’s $4B loss drags on positive first quarter for Meta

Meta reels from an almost $4B loss from its metaverse unit with Reality Labs in the 1st quarter of 2023, despite the Zuckerberg-led tech giant posting a final profit of $5.7B.

In their freshly released earnings report, Zuckerberg said Reality Labs will likely incur more operating losses for the rest of the year, despite the current $4B loss already trailing a $14B loss in 2022.

Zuckerberg is also quick to clarify “a narrative [that] has developed” that Meta is moving away from its metaverse vision, saying it’s inaccurate and that they have been focusing on both AI and the metaverse for years now.

For him, the metaverse will help its AI visions and vice-versa, for instance “embodying AI agents will take advantage of the deep investment” Meta has made in avatars over the past years.

3/ NFT markets are out of balance, with sellers dominating: Data

Recent data from analytics platform NFTGo reveals that throughout April, the NFT market has consistently seen more sellers than buyers.

The numbers show there were only 7,907 buyers on April 26 while there were 8,641 attempting to sell their NFTs. The market also hit its second-lowest point on April 19 with only 5,893 buyers.

Canary Labs co-founder Ovie Faruq even goes so far as to say that the NFT market is "not functioning" at the moment.

What could be causing the lack of demand?

• Silicon Valley Bank crumbled in March, resulting in a dramatic 27.9% decrease in daily NFT sales and a significant dip in NFT trading volumes.

• The top 6 NFT marketplaces saw a rise in wash trading in February for the 4th month straight, with a total volume of $580M, a CoinGecko report discloses.

• The report, however, did attribute the overall recovery of the NFT marketplace as the reason for the increase.

4/ Elon Musk talks AI, Tesla with Democratic leader Schumer

Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk had a recent chat with US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about AI and electric vehicles.

Here's the scoop:

• Schumer mulls over AI rules to safeguard national security and education, creating a regulatory framework to protect the US and keep it at the forefront of tech advancement.

• Senate Intel Chair Warner urges AI CEOs to address regulatory worries as Washington pushes for further AI rules.

• Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the Biden administration is actively tackling AI challenges, citing the major threat of misinformation and deep fakes.

In January, Musk met two top White House officials to discuss advancing EV production within Biden’s term. Earlier this year, he also met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He and other AI experts also urged a 6-month halt in AI development beyond OpenAI's GPT-4 over societal risks.

🏃‍♂️ Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Here’s how Roblox is bringing AI to the metaverse. (Link)

• Video game Storybook Brawl got acquired by FTX because Sam Bankman-Fried loved it, and now it’s shutting down. (Link)

• There’s a place for AI in mobile game creation. (Link)

• Video games regularly drive big-ticket M&As each year, to the tune of $192.7B. (Link)

• 5 ways to get employed in metaverse gaming. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Reality gets a makeover: The inaugural Metaverse Beauty Week is coming to Decentraland, Roblox, and Spatial. (Link)

• Big web3 moves from the Big 3 this month: Nike, Adidas, and Puma. (Link)

• Have you registered for your 10KTF x PUMA Slipstream phygital NFT yet? (Link)

• MNTGE debuts token-enabled vintage Levi’s with its Fruits & Veggies drop. (Link)

• Supermodel Eva Herzigová has her very own real-time 3D phygital human - could this be the future of modeling? (Link)

• Digital fashion brand Play! Pop! Go! launches its 1st physical collection. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• ChatGPT ranks the best Utah football players of all time. (Link)

• Robot fitness trainers come at a fraction of the cost of human coaches. But how useful are they? (Link)

• Colorado Rapids fans will get AI-based weapons detection security screenings at games. (Link)

• Sports steps into the metaverse - and takes investors along for the ride. (Link)

• Super League Gaming nabs the Webby Award for Best Entertainment, Sports & Music Metaverse Experience. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Court nixes Apple's monopoly: No more 30% commissions from devs using its payment methods. (Link)

• Web3 social media protocol Lens launches layer 3 network Bonzai to scale blockchain social media apps. (Link)

• Assouline’s new book Metaverse Dream suggests we'll spend a decade of our lives in the metaverse. But will it take us on holiday? (Link)

• NFT Now co-founder Alejandro Navia talks web3 mental health and tokenized media's future. (Link)

• William Shatner leaps into web3 with Orange Comet in the digital series Infinite Connections. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Art Blocks co-founder Erick Calderon advocates for NFT royalties using free market principles. (Link)

• The crypto community is split on Coinbase NFT’s push for “sensible crypto policy.” (Link)

• Morrison Hotel Gallery presents Shadows, a showcase of NFT images of legendary electronic musician deadmau5. (Link)

• HK-based Sleek offers one of the 1st NFC-powered, fully personalized cards that showcase your web3 identity with the tap of a phone. (Link)

• Web3 animation studio Toonstar offers web series Space Junk, using NFTs for creative collaboration. (Link)

🤖 AI

• OpenAI enables users to delete their chat history for increased privacy. (Link)

• How is AI disrupting the construction industry? (Link)

• Apple is constructing a paid AI health coach, per reports. (Link)

• Google and Microsoft are battling for control of AI's future. (Link)

• How AI figures into cybersecurity. (Link)

• News app Artifact can now summarize stories using AI, including in fun styles. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Unstoppable Domains partners with Binance.US to enable users to mint Binance.US domains on Polygon. (Link)

• Edtech startup TinyTap raises $8.5M from Animoca to onboard kids to web3. (Link)

• London Real Ventures invests in Orange Comet to revamp web3 gaming and entertainment. (Link)

• Cosmic Lounge raises €4M in a seed round to leverage its AI-enhanced Puzzle Engine for the puzzle game space. (Link)

• South Korean entertainment giant SM Entertainment acquires 51% of Studio Clon through its affiliate Studio Kwangya. (Link)

--

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 📈

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news every day.