Does the Metaverse Matter?
Issue #2
Another week, another trip to the Lion City! This week I headed down to Singapore for the PE-VC Conference, organised by DealStreetAsia with my ScaleUp Malaysia partners, Xelia Tong & Andre Sequerah.
It was a whirlwind trip for sure. We did our best to maximise time to meet with investors, VCs and partners. I’ll share some key takeaways soon where I’ll discuss:
Is venture capital in trouble?
How do regional capital allocators view Malaysia as a market?
How should startups respond to the current economic climate.
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Now on to this week’s discussion!
DNA Digerati50 Networking Recap
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
I remember when DNA’s Karamjit Singh first told me that he wanted to have the next networking session of Digerati50 community in VR. I thought he was nuts. My only experience with VR before this was Playstation 4’s VR which my kids use to play “Job Simulator.” Suffice to say it wasn’t the most fluid ordeal.
Eventually I convinced myself to pick up a Meta Quest 2. Much to my surprise it was a really good experience. Its completely wireless, super light and they’ve really made the user experience seamless. You don’t need to attach it to a device or TV. Just connect to a WiFi and you’re good to go. I didn’t really play with the chat features - left that for the Digerati50 event and I didn’t feel like talking to strangers. The first game I bought was “Vader Immortal.” I must say, having Darth Vader walk up to you in VR is surreal. My heart rate jumped the first time I tried the RedBull TV app.
The Digerati50 event was really unique. Massive kudos to Karamjit and the DNA team for pulling this off. It wasn’t just a one off event. They took the pains to get everyone orientated with the Meta Quest 2 and had multiple test run sessions. They probably spent 100s of hours just getting this set up. It was quite a feat and truly special to see all the movers and shakers of the Malaysian ecosystem in one place, in avatar format.
Personal appreciation: Thanks for making my avatar look slim, tall and super suave looking - if only I could pull this off in real life.
Read Digital News Asia's coverage on the Digerati50 event.
For all the heat Meta has received for its pivot into the metaverse I must say that this experience has opened me up to the massive opportunities that the metaverse unlocks. I’m really excited to see how the user experience improves over time with better visuals, higher fidelity and a more comfortable experience.
The metaverse is not simply a product from one major technology firm, it’s potentially what the next generation of computing looks like - a spacial version of the internet that you can inhabit. Already millions of people are using and spending money in metaverse environments. I know this personally! My daughters spend a small fortune on Robux.
Commercially, I think this is an opportunity developers and entrepreneurs should jump on. Virtual worlds are a multi billion dollar opportunity for communication, experiences and games. Just imagine what can be done in education, the travel space, or for film, or Ecommerce?
McKinsey notes that the metaverse may be an opportunity that is too big to ignore. By 2030, it forecasts a value creation component of $5 trillion - yes, with a “T.” Venture Capitalists and Private Equity firms have already invested $120 billion in initiatives in the metaverse.
So what do you think - is the metaverse a trend to watch?
PS: If you know any great startups in this space - hit me up! Would love to speak to them.
The week ahead
Back to the grind
I’ll be in KL this week though the week already seems super packed with meetings, calls and some nice dinners with partners & investors. I’m going to enjoy being home. What I’m looking forward to:
ScaleUp Malaysia IC | We’re convening our 2nd Investment Committee (IC) for Cohort 2022 this week. Looking at some great early stage startups. PS: If you run a startup please reach out. I’d love to learn more about what you do and see how we can help.
Malaysian Teacher Prize Award Ceremony | I’m excited to join Pemimpin GSL and YTL foundation as they appreciate outstanding teachers in Malaysia. Education is a sector that is close to my heart. It’s why at ScaleUp Malaysia we’ve invested in AOne, GuruInovatif, Recqa & Open Academy; and at Remote Ventures we have incubated AskBee.
Budget 2023 | I’ll be publishing an op-ed in a few days about my expectations for this year’s budget for the digital economy. I have you to thank for this. Your feedback has been amazing. I’ll share links as they are made available. Stay tuned!
Just trying to contribute this initiative, I leave comments here.
Metaverse is definitely interesting concept and potential future common sense.
Platformer is key but very tough competition since already most of mega enterprises involved.
But the contents is king at metaverse as well, so malaysia need more IP holders that can be attractive for global users for sure.
Definition of metaverse is still unclear but
My personal experience of best metaverse was fortnite. It is beyond expectations I was though it is just a video game. I suggest you to try it once. If they seriously plan to join metaverse business, they are winning I bet.
As you said Roblox is also potentially winning if they expand it to current metaverse competition.
but avatar need more excellence to attract mature users.
VR device I haven’t tried yet.
I heard that it still ride-sickness is occurring when they use it for long time. Looking forward to seeing new devices that can be solved the issue.