Dubai metaverse start-up Bedu launches operations

The company aims to attract global investment and expertise in the areas of Web3, blockchain, non-fungible tokens and the metaverse

Khaled Al Huraimel, co-founder and chairman of Bedu, says the company aims to build 'a new virtual economy and the next digital frontier'. Photo: Bedu

Bedu, a UAE-based start-up focused on the metaverse, launched its operations in Dubai as it aims to leverage the potential of the Emirates to become a hub for emerging technologies.

The company aims to attract investment and expertise from around the world to the UAE to accelerate the development of Web3, blockchain, non-fungible tokens and the metaverse, innovations that are reshaping the way people interact and conduct their activities, it said in a statement on Thursday.

“Bedu is committed to creating ... solutions within the UAE and then expanding that progress throughout the Mena region and beyond, because we see the country as a potential Silicon Valley for NFTs and blockchain,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, co-founder and chairman of Bedu.

“We are born out of the UAE, but global in our vision for the next iteration of humanity’s shared digital world."

"We shall build a new virtual economy and the next digital frontier," said Mr Al Huraimel, who is also the group chief executive of Sharjah environmental management company Beeah Group.

Web3 is the third stage of the web's evolution that leverages the capabilities of artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain to make the internet smarter.

The market for the technology is expected to be valued at almost $6.2 billion in 2023 and will grow at a compound annual rate of almost 45 per cent from 2023 to 2030, according to Market Research Future.

NFTs, meanwhile, are unique digital properties in the form of art or media purchased using blockchain technology. The metaverse is the emerging digital space that allows those in it to communicate and move using three-dimensional avatars or digital representations.

The NFT market surpassed $50bn in 2021 while the metaverse sector was valued at around $63bn, according to Emergen Research.

Bedu operates under two business units: Bedu Labs, an “NFT factory” that provides solutions for clients interested in leveraging the potential of Web3, and Bedu World, which handles the metaverse.

The company has also set up UAE NFT, an Emirates-based NFT collection that aims to build a community within the industry.

“We use AI, machine learning and the world’s most sophisticated cyber security to deliver a democratised, ethical blockchain that the world can trust," said Misha Hanin, co-founder and chief executive of Bedu.