Everdome, a Dubai-based metaverse company, has secured an investment pledge of $10 million from GEM Digital that it will use to expand its operations and develop a sustainable business model.
The funding will be through a structured token subscription agreement, with Everdome controlling the timing and the number of drawdowns under the facility, the company said on Tuesday.
There will be no minimum drawdown obligation.
At its discretion, Everdome has the ability to sell up to 200 per cent of the company's average daily volume in tokens across several exchanges to GEM Digital, it said.
“This is the perfect time for us to put our foot on the gas and really grow our product, which GEM's investment commitment will help us to do,” chief executive and founder Rob Gryn said.
The metaverse is where people, represented by avatars or three-dimensional representations, can interact in virtual worlds.
It is part of Web3, the next evolutionary step of the internet, with blockchain, decentralisation, openness and greater user utility among its core components.
The UAE has taken a number of major steps to integrate the metaverse and its related technology, including cryptocurrencies, into the economy, government and society.
Dubai announced on July 19 that it would be hosting the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, the first industry event focused on the technology, in September.
A day before, the government unveiled the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to create 40,000 jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's economy over the next five years.
In May, Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Vara) — which was established under the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, the first such law in the emirate — said it had established its Metaverse HQ, making it the first regulator to have a presence there.
The value of the global metaverse market is forecast to hit about $5 trillion by 2030, according to a report in June from McKinsey & Company.
Dubai's metaverse strategy
Everdome, which held its first auction on May 30, allows users to purchase, rent and lease property in the metaverse.
The GEM investment comes at a time of heightened activity for the company. A total of 11,700 plots — or about 97 per cent of those allocated throughout Everdome's metaverse — were sold during an eight-week auction which began on May 30.
Everdome has its own digital currency, called $Dome. Plots have been purchased for 1.5 billion $Dome, which is equal to more than $18.6m, it said. The average price of an Everdome plot was 130,000 $Dome.
“GEM's investment will be focused on team growth and metaverse technological expansion, and will see the game's virtual reality capabilities set on a fast track,” Everdome said.
“Funds will also go towards boosting marketing efforts, partnership enablement and investments that will aid Everdome's sustainable growth.”
