Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Headline: Stereopsia Europe happened last week, and it was a lot of fun (details below).
Debunk: A report said Pico will gradually shut down; Bytedance responded that the rumours are untrue.
Stat of the week: The metaverse could be worth $900bn by 2030, according to Bain & Company. For context, Citi Bank said it could be worth up to $13trn, while McKinsey said $5trn. Don’t just take a pinch of salt; carefully choose which type of salt you wish to pinch.
Conversation-starter: DARPA is investigating how they can protect VR users from “cognitive attacks.”
Other stories: Australia launched the Australian Metaverse Advisory Council, and Apple expanded its Vision Pro Developer Labs to NYC and Sydney (more stories below).
Accenture Life Trends 2024 is now out, which I helped a little with. Basically, we are now in a period of flux. I’ll also be at AWE EU this week - see you there?
Analysis
Stereopsia Europe happened last week, and it was a lot of fun.
It was a good way of trying out a few experiences, such as a neat set of smart glasses. The talks were informative, the experiences were cool, and the people were lovely. It’s a good opportunity to tap into the European ecosystem.
“It went great, with many students, and I like the format of a fishbowl conversation; it works better than a full-scale panel.” Alexandra Gerard, Director of Stereopsia Europe.
However, the event would have benefitted from a split between stalls and the main stage, as sound leaked into both areas during the event.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would happily come back again.
Other notable stories
Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Accedo launched a partner hub.
Apple expanded its Vision Pro Developer Labs to NYC and Sydney.
Australia launched the Australian Metaverse Advisory Council.
Google Cloud has teamed up with blockchain infrastructure firm MultiversX to add additional web3 capabilities.
IRONSTRIKE, a co-op VR fantasy roguelike, will come to Quest 3 on 16 November.
Kill It With Fire VR will be released on PSVR 2 on 7 November.
Pico will get VRChat soon.
XRHealth announced that they are sending VR headsets to Israel, to treat patients coping with anxiety, stress, and PTSD.
Help corner
If you have a problem that you think could be solved by another reader of The Immersive Wire and would like to be connected, let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.
Haven, a VR wellness company I am advising, is conducting a user testing program to get early access to our XR wellness platform, with sessions created by world-leading experts. Click here to sign up.
Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.
