The number of companies in the metaverse is growing by the day. Some estimates indicate that the metaverse built on blockchain may become the successor of today’s Internet.
List of Companies Present in the Metaverse. In these parallel worlds, more and more businesses compete for top positions. Metaverses are filling up with companies adapting their real-world offerings of goods and services to virtual worlds. Last week, we learned about selling two virtual land lots for $5 million. Real estate companies already offer the same services in metaverses as in real life.
Just as a person needs to buy clothes in real life, your avatar must also buy clothes in metaverses. Therefore, he needs a store to purchase these clothes. The possibilities provided by the economic connection between the virtual and real-world attract companies’ attention in different industries. According to a report by crypto investment group Grayscale, metaverses may represent a market opportunity of more than $1 trillion in annual revenue.
List of companies in Metaverses
Many big-tech companies are already building their platforms, like Facebook or Microsoft. In addition, numerous “traditional” companies from all industries have opened their headquarters in some metaverse to market their goods and services virtually.
Fashion
The fashion industry has great opportunities in metaverses. Some fashion giants have already taken their first steps into these parallel realities. One of the firms that seem to have it more straightforward is Nike. Last November, the sports fashion company presented Nikeland. A metaverse on the Roblox gaming platform allows users to exercise with their avatars through different games and dress their avatars in clothes and sneakers from the famous U.S. brand. Likewise, the German clothing multinational Adidas announced just a week ago its alliance with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. In addition to accepting crypto payments, many believe the partnership will construct a metaverse of its own (adiVerse) in The Sandbox.
Sports fashion is not the only one already experimenting with metaverses. The infinite possibilities offered by these virtual worlds have also caught luxury brands’ attention. Last September, Balenciaga began selling masks in the Fortnite metaverse for $8 each. Gucci sold a digital version of its well-known Dionysus bag in the Roblox metaverse for more than four thousand dollars, $800 more than the original. Last October, Dolce & Gabanna sold a Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) collection comprising 5 physical designs and four digital creations for over $6 million.
Automotive
Another industry that may have the most future in metaverses is the automobile industry. As in the real world, avatars must move from one place to another over long distances. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) launched its own NFTs marketplace in September, where every week, there are races, and it releases digital collections. NASCAR also teamed up with gaming platform ZED RUN to include several NASCAR-branded NFT horses in the game. In other words, the horse game will be able to race NASCAR-branded horses.
Some time ago, Nissan also announced an innovative technology connecting vehicle users to the metaverse. Nissan intends to transmit avatar data inside the vehicle so that you can communicate interactively with other avatars inside and outside the car. Last April, the video game chip maker NVIDIA partnered with the German car brand BMW to create a replica of its factory in Regensburg, Germany. The goal is to test different options applied to the physical factory to check if they work. It is like a Metaverse Digital Twin.
Real Estate
The company Metaverse Property, in addition to offering plots on the metaverses Decentraland, the Sandbox, Somnium, Upland, and Cryptovoxels, also provides leasing, property management, marketing, project development, and consulting services. The company has an investment project called REIT, where it reports the creation of the first virtual real estate investment trust on the metaverses mentioned above. Metaverse Property last week purchased 116 lots of virtual land in Decentraland’s Fashion Street Estate district for 618,000 MANA. At the close of the purchase, the MANA tokens were worth $2.4 million.
Consumer
Metaverses and NFTs are also widely used as marketing strategies by different consumer companies. The best example is Coca-Cola. The U.S. multinational beverage company launched its collection of NFTs with an avatar party on the rooftop of a building in the Decentraland metaverse. Thus, thanks to this party, Coca-Cola transferred much of its iconography to this metaverse. Coca-Cola has become one of the pioneers of metaadvertising. Other beverage companies such as Bacardi and Budweiser have also launched NFT collections. Currently, some say that Budweiser also wants to create its metaverse.
Leisure
As in real life, avatars can also go to a nightclub to socialize in virtual worlds. Amnesia Ibiza, one of the world’s best-known nightclubs, held a big party on October 9 to celebrate opening its first utterly virtual nightclub in the Decentraland metaverse. Like many other entertainment venues, Covid-19 forced Amnesia nightclub to close its doors. The owners of this iconic nightclub see metaverses as the future of virtual relationships. Within this space, avatars can listen to the songs of the world’s top music artists and DJs.
Media
Last July, South China Morning Post (SCMP) announced a partnership with The Sandbox Metaverse. In addition to introducing readers to the new technologies that metaverses provide, SCMP announced the launch of a collection of NFTs inspired by its library of photographs, visual illustrations, data visualizations, and infographics. The South China Morning Newspaper is Hong Kong’s leading newspaper, owned by Alibaba Group.
Art and auctions
Although the list of companies in metaverses is growing, for the time being, it is the art industry that has been experimenting with metaverse/NFTs pairing for the longest time. Last June, the world’s oldest auction house, Sotheby’s, opened a digital replica of its London gallery in the Decentraland metaverse to auction its works digitally. Sotheby’s has gone even further and opened its own NFT marketplace and metaverse last November.