'We Are Building for Metaverse': Meta Vice President Nick Clegg Reveals Days after Facebook’s Rebranding

On November 1, social networking mammoth Facebook announced a fresh rebranding under a new name, Meta. Speaking about the goals of Meta, its Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg revealed that the company is building itself for the metaverse. Powered by augmented reality (AR), the metaverse can be described as the future of the Internet that could support a functional virtual universe. Clegg made the statements during an interview with Financial Times at the ongoing Web Summit event in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 2.

“The metaverse isn't something we're building; so much as it's something we're building for,” Clegg said, reiterating the vision shared by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier in October.

According to Zuckerberg, in the metaverse future, “you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents' living room to catch up. This will open up more opportunity no matter where you live. You'll be able to spend more time on what matters to you, cut down time in traffic, and reduce your carbon footprint.”

While the concept of the metaverse is still catching up among tech enthusiasts, Clegg said it was essential for Meta to rush into the space.

Cryptocurrencies are expected to be the primary mode of payment in this futuristic version of the Internet.

Bloomberg Intelligence reportedly expects the market opportunity for the metaverse to reach $800 billion (roughly Rs. 59,58,719 crore) by 2024.

More tech giants are getting into the groove of the metaverse. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, for instance, has also spoken in favour of the metaverse concept.

“The metaverse is not just transforming how we see the world, it is also changing how all of us actively participate in it,” Nadella said.

Nvidia Omniverse and Roblox Metaverse are other tech majors which are exploring the metaverse space.