How to Create Business

Value From The Metaverse

– Discussion Slides

Christophe Uzureau, David Furlonger

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The Metaverse - Key Observations

• Gartner defines a Metaverse as: “A collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence
of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. A Metaverse is persistent, providing enhanced
immersive experiences.”
• The initial concept of the metaverse was imagined by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson 30
years ago in his novel “Snow Crash” (1992).
• It was then depicted as a networked virtual reality where people represented by self-designed
avatars interact, play, debate, study and train etc…It was originally framed as an interactive and
collective project, not designed by nor controlled by one given group or company.
• It is therefore a very different vision from what Mark Zuckerberg had when announcing the social
media company will become a “metaverse company” and then rebranding the company to Meta.
Please note that Facebook digital wallet Novi brand is now positioned as the umbrella
organization for all payments, financial products, wallets, and cryptocurrency related offerings.
That said, Mark Zuckerberg’s definition of the metaverse is worth stressing: “You can think about
the metaverse as an embodied internet, where instead of just viewing content—you are in it”.

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Which Version Will Dominate?
Decentralized - eg. Decentraland
Government oriented: eg. Metaverse Alliance

• Closer to real “openness”

• Multi-industry collaboration • Support new financing models
• Standardisation via DeFi
• Friendly policies • Creators and owners, not users
Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2021/05/133_308975.html
Source: https://decentraland.org

Digital giant: eg. Meta Gaming platform - eg. Roblox

• Well-honed business model

• Reach and war chest • Engaged community
• Oculus, Novi and Diem • Opening secondary trading options
Source: https://about.facebook.com/meta/ • Age diligence process
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• Creators, not just users
Source: https://www.roblox.com
Early lessons from South Korean Market
The Ministry of Science and ICT in South Korea is working on a couple of policies
and industry group developments which are worth mentioning at this stage on top
Government oriented: eg. Metaverse Alliance of the Metaverse Alliance:

• Metaverse Academy (legal support, eg. IP) for companies to understand the
legal implications as well as how to reduce risks. This could be an important
contribution for teens and young adults as they need to better understand their
rights and how to protect the digital assets (eg. design) they create – cf.
Zepeto illustration.

• Promote new talents – we think it’s a fundamental strategy to encourage

• Multi-industry collaboration early new careers as the Metaverse demand a new generation of software
• Standardisation engineers
• Friendly policies
Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2021/05/133_308975.html • Digital education programs for older citizens – whilst there is no mention by
South Korean authorities of the following approach - you could create a
mentorship program for teens and younger adults to support older citizens in
using the Metaverse (or getting more digital savvy)

In terms of raising awareness, the Culture Ministry held “The Youth Made
Changes - Culture Ministry,” in May 2021 together with ifland, a social
communication service platform from SK Telecom, using an avatar called
“JazzyWolf.” Participants included young artists and student journalists

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Seoul Metaverse (by 2026)
• A smart city transition to the Metaverse needs to be more than an
evolution of digital twins. It needs to go beyond organizing specific
events such as the “virtual New Year’s Eve bell ringing at Bosingak
Belfry” event that Seoul is planning.

• There is a plan for a “virtual mayor’s office” and virtual services from
Seoul Fintech Lab, Invest Seoul, and Seoul Campus Town.

• They expect that by 2023 they will have set up a virtual office for
general public services tentatively named “Metaverse 120 Center”.
There, citizens equipped with VR headsets will meet with avatar
officials to handle citizen complaints and consultations.

• The development of ”Seoul talk” (Kakao based AI chatbot) as part of

the Seoul Metaverse will be an important component in terms of
citizen engagement. It’s currently responsible for answering public
questions and complaints, from parking violations to COVID -19
protocols.

• They also expect to provide guides on how to access public libraries

or open courses at city-run centers. The goal is to extend the
services to all aspects of Seoul residents’ daily lives to the
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Metaverse.
SK Telecom ifland

• SK Telecom, a South Korean telecommunication

company, has also created its own metaverse
platform called ifland - in part to drive 5G usage

• ifland allows users to share PDF documents and mp4

files, and provide virtual locations for organizations to
host conferences, orientations, trainings, and town
hall meetings.

Source: https://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/press_detail.do?idx=1513

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South Korean Banks’ Channel Experimentations -
Baby steps into the design of a “FinVerse”

• South Korean banks experimenting with different kinds of

customer engagement enabled by emerging metaverse –
no physical space limitations or form factor limitations
• Hana Bank opening a Metaverse training centre including
mentoring program for new executives
• The approach of Kookmin Bank to introduce a virtual
financial town and a “tele-commuting” centre for staff is
part of a country-wide drive to promote digital
technologies.
• Woori Bank has joined, the ‘Metaverse Alliance’, which
as mentioned by the article, and has about 200
companies collaborating to create a metaverse broader
than just banking.

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 Zepeto Creator Economy

• Naver Z Corporation’s Zepeto is a metaverse platform in

South Korea, with over 200 million users globally, 90 percent
of whom log in from outside of South Korea.

• The platform is used for social gatherings (social media +

messaging + tiktok-like features) as well as shopping; brands
such as Nike, Gucci, and Ralph Lauren have opened up
virtual stores within Zepeto to sell their digital products.

• Zepeto studio allows users to design their own items and

monetize them.

• Initiated a partnership (early stage) with the Sandbox to use

NFTs to bridge both virtual worlds cf.
https://www.beyondgames.biz/15270/more-metaverse-zepeto-
sandbox-partner-to-create-nft-worlds/

Source: https://studio.zepeto.me/

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Metaverse Doctors Alliance

• The Metaverse Doctors Alliance (MDA) goal is to

deliver virtual healthcare globally, via the use of
blockchain to increase access and ensure privacy.
• Launched December 2021 in South Korea. At the
launch event, Solve.Care introduced the network
authoring portal Care.Labs, a Korean offering in
local language to support the MDA.
• Solve.Care believes the metaverse can assist in
addressing the demand/supply and equity issues
of healthcare eg using efficient meeting places
and reducing the latency of consultation and
diagnosis processes

Image Source: https://img.einnews.com/large/254637/pradeep-at-mda.jpeg#1280x720

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Royal London Hospital and the Metaversity

• The Royal London Hospital and St Bartholomew’s

Hospitals uses VR for cancer surgery.
• They launched the Metaversity, a program of virtual
learning experiences and certifications for
continued professional development.
• “In the future, maybe we will see benefits such as
remote collaboration with patients and
dissemination of information among clinicians at Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4T49_zz3HA

different centres. Virtual reality and augmented

reality are already making a difference in patients’
lives and the metaverse allows us to take this to the
next level” Prof Ahmed.

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Video Source: https://youtu.be/4lSZV31ulNQ

Chinese Market also Dealing with Metaverse(s) Fragmentation

• Baidu Xirang - app to start with providing virtual art

show and two product displays, next online education
• ByteDance - acquisition of VR software and hardware
manufacturer Pico and investments in game company
Code Qiankun
• NetEase investments into Sanya - headquarters and
esports + digital commerce supply chain
• Tencent investment into Roblox gaming platform and
acquisition of BlackShark gaming hardware company

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 Asia Digital Bank and Digital Silk Road

• The China Mobile Communications Association (CMCA) strategic partnership with the Asia Digital Bank, in a bid to jointly
explore the new digital finance and trade ecosystem in the metaverse
• The move will also focus on promoting cooperation in the digital economy's development with countries and regions
along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
• To facilitate the issuance, trading and circulation of digital assets (incl. NFTs) issued on Blockchain (cf. BSN)
• Part of the offshore financial policy framework.
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