While the metaverse does not rule the Internet, two major social networks should dispute the leadership of this new digital universe. This dispute is between Facebook, which has changed its name to Meta, and the company responsible for TikTok, ByteDance.
In 2021, Facebook announced the development of a metaverse, leaving behind the name that made the social network famous worldwide. In total, meta has spent more than US$ 10 billion on building a digital universe.
According to Forbes, ByteDance invests in content and hardware geared toward the metaverse. With revenues of US$ 58 billion by 2021, the platform is following in Facebook’s footsteps.
Although Facebook’s metaverse is not finalized, the company recently sold 10 million virtual reality headsets. As recently as 2014, the social network acquired a virtual reality company for US$2 billion.
Thus, in a quest to keep up with Meta, TikTok bought a virtual reality equipment company in August 2021. With 600 million users in China, the video app is investing in selling virtual reality headsets.
In early 2022, the company Pico, which is part of ByteDance, distributed 3 thousand virtual reality headsets in an effort to keep up with Facebook’s growth in the sector.
For Forbes, the investment in virtual reality by the two platforms is intended to attract new developers. As with Google Play and the App Store, Facebook and TikTok are preparing to dominate the Internet metaverse market.
