A look back at 2021

2021 has been an exciting year for XR, and here are just some honorable mentions

Inside.com Part of   Network December 31, 2021

Dear Insiders, I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. As we count down to the New Year tonight, I've compiled a list of the top XR stories of 2021. Stay tuned for the New Year's Issue, when we'll give you our predictions for what could transpire in 2022 for the XR ecosystem.  Cheers to another New Year!!  Gia

1) Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms or Meta for short. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding to reflect a commitment to becoming a metaverse company. The tech giant is investing $10B and hiring 10,000 skilled employees in Europe. During the conference, Zuckerberg called the metaverse "the successor to the mobile internet" and a "virtual environment" that will allow its users to create their avatars to work, shop, or play, using virtual reality headsets on smart devices. In an effort to make the metaverse mirror our physical world, Meta also revealed a prototype version of its haptic gloves, designed to recreate physical sensations like holding a solid object in the metaverse. Haptic technology will take the virtual reality experience to a whole new level by merging the physical and the digital world. Meta also partnered with Ray-Ban on Sept. 9 to reveal its augmented reality smartglasses.   2) Microsoft announced that it is building the Mesh, a corporate version of the metaverse platform for both consumers and businesses. It's set to launch in early 2022, and users will be able to create avatars and have mixed reality experiences using the HoloLens for meetings and video calls. Microsoft's Teams will activate digital avatars and enable sharing office files and immersive PowerPoint presentations in the virtual world. The Mesh software enables AR and VR  experiences on the HoloLens. Once completed, Microsoft's metaverse apps will be compatible with Meta's Oculus VR headsets in the coming year.  3) This was an interesting year for crypto-linked metaverse projects as we witnessed crypto assets increase by as much as 100%+ in 24 hours after Facebook became Meta. The Decentraland (MANA) token price climbed to $1.25 and reached a market capitalization of more than $2B. Nearly every crypto asset-building or metaverse-related coin was up significantly after Zuckerberg announced the new plans to build the metaverse. Sandbox (SAND) rose 31%, according to the Index Coop's Metaverse Index (MVI). Play-to-earn game and virtual world Axie Infinity's token, AXS, also surged 17% in 24 hours. It is important to note that VR worlds like Sandbox and Decentraland are gaming platforms that have stark differences from Facebook's metaverse.  4) This year we also saw metaverse-related trademarks being filed by big brands. Nike filed seven new trademarks with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office and posted job listings for "virtual material designer" and "virtual design." The same trend continued overseas as Tencent, Huawei, Alibaba, and 1,300+ Chinese companies joined the metaverse trademark race. Some of the trademark names included "King Metaverse," "Tianmei Metaverse," and more.  5) Nike partnered with Roblox to create a free virtual space called Nikeland. Users will be able to interact with their friends in the Nike metaverse, and play games such as tag, dodgeball, and the floor is lava. Players can shop with their friends in the digital showroom and collect exclusive Nike swag for their avatars. The platform is not limited to gaming but can also offer an immersive sports experience by allowing event holders to host events such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Roblox has over 200 million monthly active users, and most of them range from teenage years to younger than 12 years of age. Later this year, Nike also acquired RTFKT, a company that makes virtual shoes and NFTs for the metaverse. RTFKT leverages NFT, blockchain authentication, and augmented reality technology to create digital artifacts.

6) 2021 was a year of virtual concerts and avatar performances: Justin Beiber partnered with Wave to perform for his fans in an interactive and immersive virtual reality experience where he transformed into a digital avatar during the live event. More notably, Ariana Grande's October performance in Fortnite brought 78 million people to the platform to watch the virtual live performance. Electronic music artist Deadmau5 teamed up with Manticore Games to build a virtual music experience and social space called Oberhasli. Meanwhile, Encore, co-founded by Grammy Award-winning artists Kid Cudi, Jonathan Gray, and writer-producer-director Ian Edelman, created an AR app that allows fans and artists on a single platform to watch live performances from the comfort of their homes.  7) ByteDance acquired Pico, the third-largest VR headset manufacturer worldwide. The acquisition confirms the TikTok parent company's initial entry and planned long-term investment in VR, where it could compete with the likes of Facebook, Sony, and Apple. Pico was the third-largest VR headset manufacturer worldwide in Q1 2021 after Facebook's Oculus and Chinese firm DPVR. Its shipments were up 44.7% YoY. Its main consumer headset, Pico Neo 3, is exclusive to Asia, while its business-ready Neo 3 Pro and Neo 3 Pro Eye will release in North America and Europe later this year. It doesn't sell any consumer headsets in the U.S. It is rumored that Pico cost ByteDance around $772M.   8) Virtual real estate was booming in the metaverse this year: The Sandbox saw a plot of digital land sell for $4.3M to Republic Realm, which purchased the virtual land from Atari SA. The company also confirmed that around 16,000 people had bought plots of virtual land in a new blockchain-linked video game this year. Axie Infinity also sold a parcel of digital land for $2.4M or 550 ETH. Axie Infinity, which was created by Sky Mavis, a Vietnam-based company, is one of the biggest non-fungible token platforms in the world. Meanwhile, A plot of digital land in Decentraland just sold to the Metaverse Group for $2.43M, or 618,000 MANA.  9) Adidas also acquired virtual land inside The Sandbox metaverse, and its NFTs sold for millions. The collection of digital assets is created in partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, Gmoney, and the Punks Comic team. The company earned more than $22M from the sales, and all 30,000 of Adidas' Into the Metaverse NFTs were minted within a matter of hours of going on sale.  10) Bank of America lists the metaverse as one of its top picks for technology that can transform our world. The bank listed 14 futurist technologies, some of which included 6G and flying cars, among others. The rapid interest and traction have led the financial institution to believe that within a decade, the value of these technologies may rise from $330B to $6T. There are two main reasons BofA claims that the metaverse will be one of the biggest tech revolutions. Applications: The metaverse platform is flexible and has multiple end-use cases that range from entertainment to dining experiences in VR. 3D version of the internet: The platform not only has enterprise applications but also offers social interaction, where people can interact with each other in an immersive environment.

Honorable mentions: Facebook employees will soon gather data in Singapore for the company's AR glasses project. Employees will wear glasses to collect data at locations around the city-state, starting with Merlion Park and Gardens by the Bay.  PlayStation Studios acquired U.K.-based studio Firesprite, developer of VR horror roguelite "The Persistence." Firesprite will work on new games outside of Sony's other in-house studios. Rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg announced a partnership with The Sandbox to re-build his mansion in the NFT metaverse. "The idea of having hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg as your next-door neighbor in The Sandbox metaverse is mind-blowing," said Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox. Nreal, a Chinese AR startup, raised $100M in Series C funding to launch its new lightweight AR glasses.  Camo partnered with Snap Inc. to launch an augmented reality tool for live streaming applications.  Barbados' government has signed an agreement with Decentraland to develop a metaverse embassy. The partnership raises the question of what a metaverse embassy is and what it will look like.  VictoryXR partnered with Meta to launch digital twin campuses. The partnership will construct replicas of real college campuses in spatial 3D in 2022.

Upcoming Events: January 04 - Venturing in VC Episode #1 - featuring Turner Novak (Register Here) January 05 - DAOs and the intersection of tech & media with Kinjal Shah (Blockchain Capital) (Register Here) January 06 - Augmented and Virtual Reality with Timoni West (VP of AR/VR at Unity) (Register Here) January 11 - The Business of Interactive Gambling with Jon Kaplowitz (Penn) (Register Here) January 11 - Venturing in VC Episode #2 (Register Here) January 13 - Education within the Metaverse with Steve Grubbs (VictoryXR) (Register Here) January 25 - Need To Know NoCoder - Leon Young (Cogniss) (Register Here) January 27 - Understanding the Metaverse (Register Here) February 03 - Blockchain Gaming & Play-to-Earn Economies (Register Here) February 10 - The Business of Wellness (Register Here) February 17 - Customer Acquisition in a post iOS 14 world (Register Here) February 23 - Need to Know NoCoder: Derya Sousa (Kianda Technologies) (Register Here) February 24 - Alternative Investments (Register Here) March 03 - The $12B Appetite for Amazon Aggregators (Register Here)

Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel.  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 Ford.

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