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| Greetings Insiders, 🗞️ In this issue, we explore the groundbreaking 5G Future Forum (5GFF) and its inaugural real-time transatlantic holographic meeting. Next, we highlight top eSports tournaments globally and discuss Roblox's recent decision to lay off 30 talent acquisition team members amid a hiring slowdown. ⏬ Don't miss our Quick Hits ⚡ and Upcoming Events 📅 sections further down. 💬 We value your input! Hit reply to share your insights and feedback. 👥 Loving what you read? Help us grow by sharing this newsletter with peers and friends. Thank you for being an integral part of our Insider community! Vildana
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| 1 | | The 5G Future Forum (5GFF) and MATSUKO have successfully conducted the first-ever real-time transatlantic holographic meeting, connecting participants as holograms across multiple locations. This groundbreaking demonstration utilized 5G networks from Verizon, Bell Canada, and Vodafone. More: - Holograms were connected from New York using Verizon's 5G, Toronto with Bell Canada's 5G, and London via Vodafone's 5G.
- The demonstration was showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas.
- Real human holograms can convey a full range of emotions, enhancing the feeling of presence.
- MATSUKO developed the world's first real-time software-only solution for holographic presence using a single camera.
- The GSMA Open Gateway initiative, launched at MWC Barcelona, now includes over 30 signatories representing more than 60% of global mobile connections.
Zoom Out: - The global 5G services market is expected to reach $414.5B by 2027, indicating the potential for more such innovations.
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What the numbers say: As of September 2023, the eSports tournament with the largest prize pool was "The International 2021," boasting over $40M. The subsequent edition, "The International 2022," took place in Singapore and offered a prize pool close to $19M. Historically, editions of "The International" have consistently held the top spots for yearly prize pools in the eSports industry. Relevance: The International Esports Federation (IESF) announced that the 2024 World Esports Championship will be held in Saudi Arabia, with the host city yet to be disclosed. The Riyadh Masters 2023, part of the Gamers8 festival in Saudi Arabia, experienced a surge in Dota2 viewership. With a peak of 587,000 viewers, it became the year's most-watched Dota 2 tournament. Viewership rose by over 60% compared to the previous year, as reported by Esports Charts. | | | |
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| 3 | | Video game platform Roblox has laid off 30 members from its talent acquisition team due to a slowdown in hiring. Techcrunch suggests the layoffs are part of Roblox's strategy to focus on its bottom line, especially given the increasing amounts paid to developers. More: - Roblox operates at a net loss, emphasizing the need to align cash compensation growth with booking growth by Q1 2024.
- A Roblox spokesperson mentioned the layoffs were due to reduced hiring targets to match growth objectives better.
- In August, Roblox announced plans to advertise jobs within the game through a virtual career center.
- This virtual center aims to attract junior role candidates, especially those who grew up playing Roblox.
- Roblox is set to launch on PlayStation consoles in October and on Meta Quest 2 headsets later this month.
- Roblox experienced dramatic growth, boasting 250 million monthly active users, surpassing Fortnite and Minecraft combined.
Zoom Out: - Shares of Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) have declined since its trading debut in 2021.
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| 4 | | VR headsets are predicted to see significant growth, reaching 30 million units annually by 2027. However, they will be overshadowed by the broader wearables market, which will see even more substantial growth. More: - In 2023, shipments of AR/VR headsets dropped by 44.6% year-over-year during Q2.
- Global economic pressures and price hikes on popular models like Quest 2 have impacted the VR market.
- IDC forecasts 8.5 million headsets will be shipped in 2023, similar to 2017 figures.
- 2024 is expected to see a 46.8% year-over-year growth, driven by new hardware from Meta, ByteDance, and Apple's Vision Pro.
- By 2027, the "earwear" sub-category of wearables will reach 380 million units, significantly outpacing VR headsets.
Zoom Out: - The global VR market size was estimated at $59.96B in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.5%.
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| 5 | | South Korea's top internet company, Kakao, and game developer Com2uS are reducing their metaverse teams due to significant losses in 2023. A survey by the Korea Information Society Development Institute showed only 4.2% of South Koreans use metaverse services regularly. More: - Com2uS, which had a revenue of $536M last year, downsized its metaverse division staff; exact details undisclosed.
- Com2uS's platform, Com2Verse, launched on Aug. 1, 2023, reported an operating loss of $6.2M in H1 2023.
- Colorverse, affiliated with Kakao Games, underwent layoffs and posted losses of $8.6M in the previous year.
- CyTown, a metaverse version of the social media service Cyworld, shut down after only achieving about 10,000 downloads on Google Play.
Zoom Out: - China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is forming a working group to establish metaverse standards.
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| 6 | | Pakistan-based Allied Bank (ABL) has partnered with Synapsify Systems (SSL) and Fasset, a UAE-based Web3 fintech, to advance its Metaverse and Web 3.0 initiatives. This collaboration aims to enhance the digital banking experience for ABL's clientele. More: - The partnership involves SSL, known for its technology R&D expertise.
- The partnership agreement was signed by Muhammad Zaman (ABL), Dr. Shahzor Ahmad (SSL), and Fahad Azeem (Fasset Pakistan).
- Mohsin Mithani, Chief Digital Officer at ABL, emphasized the alignment of this partnership with ABL's digital transformation strategy.
- Daniel Ahmed, COO of Fasset, highlighted the goal of strengthening digital financial infrastructure in developing economies like Pakistan.
Zoom Out: - In September 2022, ABL partnered with BPC to enhance its digital payment options, offering diverse methods like QR codes and card payments for a smoother customer experience across Pakistan.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS: *This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | SEP
28 | | Join TruEra's Webinar on AI Observability with former CMU professor Anupam Datta* | | | | | | | OCT
4 | | Join this free online and onsite event in Amsterdam and you'll hear from industry experts at Meta, Opera, AdGuard, Mozilla, Google, and more* | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Dry powder: Dry powder is a slang term used to denote the cash reserves available for investment with venture capital and private equity firms. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE METAVERSE LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
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