It was once just a niche concept adored by tech nerds (including yours truly); it is now a global craze: The metaverse. First coined in 1992 by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, « metaverse » was used to describe a parallel world in which humans interacted with each other in a three-dimensional virtual space, or as avatars.
Fast-forward thirty years later, the term metaverse is now mainstream and is believed to become with a massive growth opportunity. In a note to investors, last week, Mark Shmulik, internet analyst at Bernstein, said the metaverse is likely to be « really big, » with a combined annual run-rate of most markets at $2 trillion and growing. It’s likely for this reason Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year said he wanted to transition the company away from its singular focus on social networks towards a more immersive idea aimed for the metaverse.