In recent months, the concept of the metaverse has gained increasing attention in the media, with many articles claiming that the  metaverse is dead. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The metaverse is still very much alive and thriving, with continued investment, innovation, and growth in the industry.

One of the reasons why some people may believe that the metaverse is dead is due to recent layoffs amongst large tech giants such as Meta. However, it’s important to note that these layoffs have been mostly in recruiting sectors, and the number of employees in Meta is still higher than in 2021. This suggests that Meta is still investing heavily in the metaverse and that the layoffs are not just within the metaverse industry, but across various sectors, a natural part of any business’s growth and restructuring.

In fact, the metaverse has had a record investment year on year for the last decade (as shown by the graph below), with the industry worth over a billion in 2022 and continuing to grow. This continued funding round momentum has resulted in record numbers in 2022 of over 500 rounds, indicating that investors are still very interested in the metaverse and believe in its potential.

Moreover, there is significant momentum behind the industrial metaverse, including digital twins, which is driving growth and efficiency for manufacturing giants led by the likes of Nvidia with their Omniverse platform. We are also seeing growth in sub-sectors like healthcare through virtual surgery, amongst others. These developments demonstrate that the metaverse is not just a gaming or entertainment platform, but has real-world applications and potential for significant impact.

In short, the metaverse is not dead, and the claims by some media outlets are largely unfounded. The continued investment, innovation, and growth in the industry suggest that the metaverse has a bright future and is still very much alive and thriving. With the industrial metaverse and other real-world applications gaining momentum, the potential impact of the metaverse is only set to grow in the coming years.

The data presented here has been gathered, collated, and analyzed using the Metaverse Insider intelligence platform. This platform offers data-driven insights into the metaverse industry, providing investors and businesses with the information they need to make informed decisions about the future of the metaverse. If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the metaverse industry, make sure to sign up for the Metaverse Insider intelligence platform when it goes live on May 11th.

Sign up for the platform here.