{"id":12166,"date":"2022-09-14T13:23:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-14T13:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1391294"},"modified":"2022-09-14T13:23:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T13:23:52","slug":"macrons-dream-of-a-european-metaverse-is-far-from-a-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=12166","title":{"rendered":"Macron\u2019s dream of a European metaverse is far from a reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

European businesses, investors, and talent are all vying for a ticket on the metaverse<\/a> hype train. Even political heavyweights are making moves \u2014 or, at least, pronouncements.<\/span><\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel <\/span>Macron wants to build<\/span><\/a> \u201ca European metaverse\u201d to challenge US and Chinese tech giants. The EU\u2019s digital chief, Margrethe Vestager, meanwhile, is mulling new antitrust regulation. But their ambitions are a long way from being realized.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is there is no European big tech player of relevance in that whole metaverse future,\u201d says Rolf Illenberger, the cofounder of Munich\u2019s <\/span>VRdirect<\/span><\/a>, a virtual reality platform for enterprises. \u201cIt\u2019s being defined by US and Asian players. Those are the two regions where this technology is going to develop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Greetings, humanoids<\/h2>\n

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In the US, the tech titans of Meta<\/a>, Microsoft, and Apple are set for leading roles, while <\/span>Roblox<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Decentraland<\/span><\/a> already offer popular proto-metaverse platforms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their biggest global challengers are based in Asia. Bytedance, the owner of TikTok and VR hardware giant Pico, is the strongest contender, but further competition is emerging at the likes of Huawei, Tencent, and <\/span>the Sandbox<\/span><\/a> virtual world.<\/span><\/p>\n

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European startups lag behind their US and Asian counterparts.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Europe, by contrast, is largely limited to niche operators and startups. These range from Finland\u2019s Varjo<\/a>, which produces upmarket headsets, to Estonia\u2019s Ready Player Me<\/a>, a cross-game avatar platform that recently bagged $56 million in a funding round led by VC giant Andreessen Horowitz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jake Stott, CEO of Web3 and metaverse ad agency <\/span>Hype<\/span><\/a>, is also optimistic that Europe\u2019s renowned fintech sector can produce future payment providers in the space. He acknowledges, however, that they face significant challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, European startups have <\/span>lagged behind<\/span><\/a> their US and Asian counterparts when it comes to producing unicorns,\u201d he says. \u201cEurope also trails behind the US in terms of venture capital raised. This is perhaps one of the areas where government support can help the continent\u2019s fledgling metaverse ecosystem \u2014 by removing barriers to growth and creating incentives for VCs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s metaverse funding problem<\/h2>\n

Petri Rajahalme has his own plans to plug the funding gap. The Finnish entrepreneur and his business partner, Dave Hayes, recently launched<\/span> FOV Ventures<\/span><\/a>, the first VC firm to specialize in early-stage metaverse companies in Europe. In March, the duo announced a \u20ac25m fund for startups at the pre-seed or seed stage. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not lacking in talent, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d says Rajalhlme. \u201cIf you look at historical M&A, a lot of the companies that US [businesses] have snagged up are talent coming from Europe\u2026 The big question is how do you keep that talent in Europe?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rajahalme
<\/i><\/a>Rajahalme (right) was formerly managing director of the Nordic XR Startups fund, while Haynes previously led HTC\u2019s $100m Vive X fund in EMEA. Credit: FOV Ventures<\/figcaption>