UAE’s DAMAC Group to enter the metaverse; Plans $100mn investment

By Shilpa Annie Joseph, Official Reporter
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Damac
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UAE-based leading business conglomerate, DAMAC Group is planning to embark into the world of the metaverse and build its own digital cities.

According to the statement, the Group plans to invest a capital up to $100 million for the project. The initiative forms part of the company-wide ambitions to move into digital assets and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

The metaverse project will be run under a division called D-Labs which will be led by Mr. Ali Sajwani, who will serve as CEO of D-Labs as well as DAMAC general manager.

Hussain Sajwani
Hussain Sajwani
Founder
Damac Properties

“Over the past two years we have been aggressively driving our digitization efforts, and this new initiative into the metaverse will only further leverage our digital footprint. As well as updating our systems, processes, and operations across departments, we have been investing in building a strong team of skilled and talented experts to help support our ambitions of being a digital leader. In an attempt to mold to the progressive trends of business, we are expanding our offerings into the metaverse realm to avail of the many opportunities it presents. We are keen to pioneer the possibilities that the metaverse offers in ways which allow us to be more connected and involved with our customers and their interests.”

A Market Research Future (MRF) research observed that the metaverse market was worth $21.91 billion in 2020, which is predicted to grow at 41.7 percent by 2030.

Since last year, the Group’s real estate arm, DAMAC Properties has been offering home buyers a 3D virtual experience that utilizes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

“This is a stepping stone into the metaverse realm, considered to be a digital universe made up of VR, AR, and extended reality (XR) that refers to ‘all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables’ where users can get the feel of ‘living’ an experience.,” as per the company.

Related: Most UAE executives believe metaverse will have positive impact; Study

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