Dubai Unveils Ambitious Metaverse Strategy – Aims to Create 40,000 Jobs in 5 years

Earlier this year, Dubai announced a regulatory framework for virtual assets, including cryptocurrency. Apparently, this move promotes Dubai as a global hub for digital assets. The Dubai authorities also created a regulatory body known as the Virtual Assets Regulation Authority (VARA) to supervise the proceedings.

Another major announcement in this direction came from Dubai’s authorities on 18th July 2022. The announcement is related to virtual assets. What are the objectives of this announcement? Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (crown prince of UAE) recently tweeted that the metaverse strategy aims to accomplish the following goals:

• Develop Dubai as one of the top 10 metaverse economies.
• Add over $40 billion to the UAE economy & create 40,000+ jobs.
• Transform Dubai into a global hub for the metaverse.
• Attract 1000+ companies from the blockchain/metaverse sector.

Additionally, Mr. Hamdan urged the authorities to speed up the efforts in strengthening UAE’s position as the epicenter of metaverse & cryptocurrency while being a spearheader in embracing innovative technologies.

Having said that, he also acknowledged that Dubai is making great strides in establishing its position as a global leader in metaverse technology by developing state-of-the-art infrastructure and hiring top-notch talent. The crown prince sees these efforts as instrumental in creating a flourishing economy for metaverse technology.

Even the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, Remote Work Applications, and Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, Mr. Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, said that the metaverse would result in positive changes like-

• Propel Dubai’s efforts to develop innovative solutions.
• Introduce positive changes in people’s lives.
• Generate new job opportunities & bring about economic benefits.
• Turn Dubai into one of the most happening global hubs.

Steps to Implement the Metaverse Strategy in Dubai:

As stated above, the primary objective of the metaverse strategy is to encourage innovation and intensify the metaverse’s contributions through research and development partnerships while nurturing advanced ecosystems through accelerators and incubators. Eventually, these efforts will attract companies and bring business to Dubai.

The metaverse strategy also aims to achieve the following goals-

• Foster the development of Web3 technology and related applications.
• Create new government work models.
• Accelerate development in vital sectors like tourism, education, remote work, healthcare, and the legal sector.
• Establish global standards in designing safe & reliable platforms for users.
• Build metaverse infrastructure and regulations to speed up the adoption of required technologies.

The metaverse holds limitless potential as a promising digital space where people log in as avatars or their 3D images to communicate in the virtual realm. Web3 technology is nothing but the evolution of the web, with its integral aspects being blockchain decentralization, transparency, and increased user utility.

As per a recent study, the metaverse industry’s worth will be between $8T and $30T by 2030. Considering the metaverse’s present importance and how it is poised to flourish in the future, Dubai’s think tank intends to capitalize on the cash cow & use it to propel its economy.

The metaverse strategy sounds good on paper, but many of you might ask – is it practical & what are the steps to implement it? The first step is to attract and encourage talent to develop a robust metaverse. The authorities have chalked out a plan to support developers, content creators, and digital marketers in the metaverse industry to accomplish this objective.

Fundamental Tenets of the Metaverse Dubai:

The pivotal pillars of the metaverse strategy concentrate on the aspects below:

• Extended reality combines the worlds of physical and virtual realms.
• Augmented reality
• Virtual reality
• Mixed reality
• Digital twins (virtual imitations of physical devices, assets, systems, or processes that data scientists and IT professionals use to run simulations)

The Dubai authorities envision leveraging real-time data and applying machine learning & IoT while deploying AI simulation and blockchain to boost human thinking capabilities. What are the key pillars of the metaverse strategy? The key pillars of the metaverse strategy are data, network, cloud, and edge computing.

With these four pillars, you can gather, authenticate, store, process and manage vast volumes of data. Other pillars of metaverse strategy include creating favorable conditions for deploying 5G networks to facilitate edge computing & provide IT resources as and when required.

Furthermore, the increased penetration of edge computing will optimize internet devices and web apps and reduce dependence on the cloud. Therefore, gathering, storing, and processing data through local devices will become easy.

Benefits for the Economy:

The two critical elements of the metaverse are augmented reality and virtual reality. Together, they have created over 6,700 jobs and generated over $500 million for the UAE economy, paving the way for countless opportunities.

The value of global venture capital and private equity financing was approximately $13 billion in 2021, while real estate sales in the metaverse crossed $500 million. There are many other examples of how the metaverse has contributed to the UAE’s economy. An online game called Second Life, wherein participants can create avatars of their choice and enjoy a second life, contributed $650 million to global GDP in 2021.

The metaverse also established 200 crucial partnerships with Sandbox. Users can create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on this virtual platform in the Ethereum blockchain. One of the partnerships includes the esteemed launch of Warner Bros Music group as a music-themed virtual realm in the metaverse.

Gartner, a global tech, and consulting firm has speculated that the metaverse shows excellent potential as an emerging technology in 2022 and could shape our personal & professional lives in the future. Surprisingly, 9 percent of global consumers are ready to switch to the metaverse to accomplish at least one of their daily activities.

Per some speculations, the market value of NFTs could reach $80 billion, and in-game customer purchases may touch $75 billion by 2025. As seen above, the metaverse has vast capabilities and unlimited opportunities. Still, there are concerns about privacy intrusions into the commercial and personal sphere.

We understand that blockchain technology offers robust security features. Still, the inclusion of sub-technologies into the metaverse could open a pandora’s box in the form of online security and data privacy concerns. Nevertheless, more research and learning about the metaverse could resolve these issues.

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Does your business specialize in blockchain, AI, machine learning, or metaverse technology? The UAE has grand plans in these areas. Moreover, the country has the ideal infrastructure and business environment for these innovative technologies to flourish.

The day is not far when Dubai will become a global hub for metaverse technology, attracting ambitious entrepreneurs and talented individuals from various countries. Numerous companies around are capitalizing on this golden opportunity, and the time has never been better.

If you are thinking of setting up blockchain/cryptocurrency/metaverse-related businesses in the UAE, we can help you with business setup services and streamline your operations. Call NR Doshi & Partners on +971 50 6591233 or send us an email at enquiries@nrdoshi.ae. We will get back to you at the earliest.