 Venture capital (VC) investment into metaverse-related startups, including augmented- and virtual realities (AR/VR), has been dropping quarterly since 2021. Overall, 2022 has seen the fewest funding rounds for metaverse startups. However, several outliers pulled in more than $100M. More: - In Q4 2021, metaverse startups raised $2.1B, well above Q3 2022, where these groups raised $760M.
- While the drop in VC funding is stark, venture investments are falling across industries.
- While metaverse funding fell generally, some companies raised over $100M this year.
- For example, LootMogul raised $200M to build a professional sports metaverse, and Scandit reached unicorn status after raising $150M Series D to scan barcodes with AR overlays.
- Avatar startups also faired well.
- Genies raised $150M Series C in April, Ready Player Me raised $56M, and South Machines raised $70.
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 German Audi customers can now purchase Holoride's virtual reality (VR) program. The "Pioneers Pack" consists of a pair of HTC Vive Flow glasses, an 8BitDo Pro 2 Gamepad, safety straps, and a one-year subscription to the Holoride Platform. More: - Holoride partnered with Schell Games to produce the in-vehicle game "Cloudbreakers: Leaving Haven."
- The game incorporates the car's movements - steering, acceleration, braking - to make the game more immersive and reduce the likelihood of motion sickness.
- The companies plan on developing several more gaming titles and "edutainment" programs.
- The HTC Vive Flow headset connects to Android smartphones to mirror the phone's screen on a 180-inch virtual display.
- The Pioneers Pack costs ~$700.
- Holoride plans to introduce the pack to US markets in 2023.
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 In the last 12 months, people have invested nearly $2B in metaverse land. According to DappRadar, which tracks blockchain purchases, investors purchased 3,000 land parcels in the Voxel metaverse for $22M. More: - Metaverse real estate values are nearing a year-long low due in part to the crypto crash.
- The Decentraland metaverse is home to several well-known companies, including Samsung, UPS, and Sotheby's.
- The fashion house Philipp Plein spent $1.5M to purchase real estate in Decentraland.
- Companies like Adidas, Atari, Ubisoft, Binance, Warner Music, and Gucci have all purchased land in the Sandbox metaverse.
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Professional tennis players are joining American football and hockey players by preparing for matches using Sense Arena's virtual reality (VR) program. The program comes with a haptic-feedback racket that replicates real-life rackets' size, shape, and weight. More: - The program runs on Meta's Quest 2 headset.
- The program is customizable and changing to prepare users for real-life possibilities, including loud crowds or low visibility.
- When preparing for competitions against specific opponents, users can choose from an array of ball rotations and speeds.
- The drills benefit players on leave, injured, or looking to practice at home between seasons.
- The program decreases the likelihood of injuring oneself while still helping to maintain skills and activity levels.
- Jack sock, a professional tennis player with four Grand Slam titles, said about the platform, "I think it's a game changer."
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 Mojo Vision, the "Invisible Computing Company," is developing a prototype of its augmented reality (AR) smart contacts that integrates Amazon's Alexa Shopping List. The low-latency, hands-free, and eye-controlled contacts could help users update shopping lists in AR. More: - The company is working on adding Alexa-based voice activation to its computing platform so users can add and remove items hands-free.
- The AR-generated grocery list is navigable via eye movements.
- Family members can add grocery items to the list. Once added, the contact wearer sees the item appear as an AR popup.
- The prototype could demonstrate the future intersections of AR, eye-tracking, and voice controls.
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The blockchain development firm Elrond is rebranding to focus on the metaverse. As part of the transformation, the company changed its name to MultiversX. More: - The company is launching three metaverse-facing products: xFabric, xPortal, and xWorlds.
- xWorlds combines xFabric and xPortal to produce immersive metaverse experiences.
- xFabric is a quick-to-deploy blockchain module.
- xPortal is a hub organizing users' metaverse tools, including avatars, finances, friends lists, and chats.
- The company announced that it would continue utilizing its Elrond Network.
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- Meta has begun offering a more expansive coverage plan for Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets. Customers can now purchase "Warranty Plus," which includes two years of accidental damage coverage.
- "The JockeyCam VR Experience" uses 360-degree footage from real-life horse races to simulate the experience.
- PETA is debuting its VR education program, "Abduction." The platform will tour college campuses to educate young people about animal testing.
- Hadean was awarded the "Top Cloud, Enterprise, or Technology Partner" and the "Top B2B or Industrial Initiative" awards at the annual European Metaverse Summit And Awards.
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I'm Kiani from Inside.com, and this week due to Meta's recent reports, we asked our Inside Metaverse community, "Do you think Mark Zuckerberg can save his metaverse?" We received some insightful responses from our community. ⭐️ Here are some highlighted responses we received: - Dallin Stagg, a consultant at PwC, writes, "Absolutely, he can save it. Many world-changing technologies were laughed at in their early stages. People looked at the iPhone and wondered where the stylus was ... There's nothing to save, it's just a very risky bet. Only time will tell if it pans out."
- Pedro Pozo Acosta, a developer at Encino Games, puts things into perspective by writing, "It's a stretch, but FB, Whatsapp, and Instagram as social media platforms are not going away any time soon, they're still cash cows, and even if stagnated, they'll continue having a huge audience for years to come. That gives him leeway to irresponsibly waste a ridiculous amount of money on something that doesn't even require that much money."
We're looking for active members in the community to be featured in our newsletters. We may shout out your name and business, or reach out for more about you! ⭐️
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 |  | Courtney Rawlings is an Inside Research Analyst living in Los Angeles, California. She has returned to her hometown of LA after spending several years working at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is completing a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History. While working toward her Ph.D., Courtney has developed an interest in the language and history of the tech industry, especially regarding metaverse technologies, streaming, and podcasting. In fact, she hosted her own podcast Low Culture Boil! You can find her on Twitter: @ckayerawlings Email: courtney@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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