Facebook launched a $50 million fund to “responsibly” build a metaverse – a digital space that allows users to communicate and move virtually.
The XR Programmes and Research Fund will invest in programmes and external research over the course of two years, the company said.
The social networking giant will through the fund collaborate with industry partners, civil rights groups, governments, non-profits and academic institutions to determine how to build metaverse technologies responsibly, it said.
For a company the size of Facebook, with an expected $150bn in revenue next year, maintaining growth requires a massive, greenfield opportunity
Loup Ventures
“The metaverse won’t be built overnight by a single company … we develop technology rooted in human connection that brings people together,” Facebook’s vice president of reality labs Andrew Bosworth and vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said.
“As we focus on helping to build the next computing platform, our work across augmented and virtual reality and consumer hardware will deepen that human connection regardless of physical distance and without being tied to devices,” they added.
The metaverse is a set of spaces where users can innovate and engage other people who are not in the same physical space.
It might take 10 to 15 years to fully realise the metaverse products, said the company, adding that its success depends on building robust interoperability across services to ensure different companies’ experiences can work together.
“We also need to involve the human rights and civil rights communities from the start to ensure these technologies are built in a way that’s inclusive and empowering,” said Mr Bosworth and Mr Clegg.
Facebook is focusing on economic opportunity, privacy, safety, integrity, equity and inclusion to anticipate the potential risks before metaverse is introduced.
Over the years, Facebook has invested heavily in its reality labs division. Nearly 20 per cent, or 10,000 people, of Facebook’s total team is employed at these labs, up from about 5 per cent in 2017, according to the US publication The Information.
Earlier this month, the company also launched its first smart glasses – Ray-Ban Stories – that let users capture photos, record videos, listen to music, podcasts and take phone calls without involving their smartphone.
Exploring new technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality will help Facebook to diversify its portfolio and add to it its sales, industry experts said.
“About every decade we believe companies need to reinvent themselves to address large new markets and satisfy investors for the long term. For a company the size of Facebook, with an expected $150 billion in revenue next year, maintaining growth requires a massive, greenfield opportunity,” the US venture capital company Loup Ventures said in a note to clients.
“We believe the metaverse is a sufficiently large opportunity for a company the size of Facebook to chase. Despite the recent hype the metaverse remains Facebook’s most potent and underappreciated innovation opportunity.”
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
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England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
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Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
More on animal trafficking
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
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