The metaverse promises to transform how we interact, work, and socialize. With the support of major tech companies, Grand View Research predicts the market reached $65.5 billion last year and will grow at a 41.6% CAGR between 2023 and 2030.
Numerous events have emerged as the metaverse’s underlying technologies evolve to explore and showcase the innovations shaping the virtual landscape. Consumers and businesses can attend these events to learn about these technologies and network with others.
This article looks at the events where you can learn more about these immersive technologies and how to use them.
What is the Metaverse, Anyway?
The metaverse refers to a collective virtual shared space created by the convergence of physical and virtual reality. It encompasses digital worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet, providing an immersive environment where users can interact with each other and digital objects in real-time.
The metaverse is often compared to the Internet but emphasizes user experience and interaction. The technologies aim to seamlessly integrate digital and physical worlds, allowing users to transcend geographical and technological boundaries to connect meaningfully.
In the metaverse, users can create avatars, explore virtual environments, socialize with others, and participate in various activities, from gaming and entertainment to business and education. And these activities help spawn entire economies and creator ecosystems.
#1. Metaverse Summit
Location: Paris, France
Date: TBD 2023
Price: Free
The Metaverse Summit brings together builders, entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from 3D, VFXGaming, VR, AR, Web3, and beyond. With hundreds of industry-leading speakers and thousands of professionals and brands, the event is a must-attend for anyone interested in building or investing in the metaverse space.
In addition to keynotes and classes, the event features a startup competition connecting the most promising Web3 projects with reputable investors. Meanwhile, a metaverse hackathon helps teams connect to build innovative projects in real-time.
You can view videos from past summits on the event’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyQxIakEcj0YpQ6xx6_AO0w/videos
#2. Immersive Global Summit
Location: Orlando, Florida
Date: October 17 – 19, 2023
Price: TBD
The Immersive Global Summit, or IGS, is a content-driven virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality conference featuring representatives from hundreds of internationally-recognized extended reality firms. The event covers NFTs, Web3, artificial intelligence, holograms, volumetric capture, and other breaking technologies.
In addition to its flagship conference, the company holds virtual events online covering various aspects of the metaverse. For example, recent events focus on fintech, digital fashion, and gaming.
You can watch highlights from the 2022 event in Miami on YouTube:
#4. Enterprise Metaverse Expo
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Date: February 13 – 15, 2024
Price: $149+
The Enterprise Metaverse Expo helps decision-makers, technologists, and developers understand the value of the metaverse for their business. Case studies, keynotes, and panel discussions focus on helping attendees develop real strategies and implementation plans for their metaverse initiatives while understanding their long-term implications.
The upcoming event covers prescient topics like 5G, cybersecurity, digital twins, and the blockchain. And the event caters to enterprise technical executives, sales and support management, software developers, and the broader investment community.
#5. Augmented World Expo
Location: Santa Clara, California
Date: May 31 – June 2, 2023
Price: $199+
The Augmented World Expo (AWE) is a long-running event that draws thousands of companies and tens of thousands of professionals each year. In addition to speakers and tracks, the conference hosts a startup pitch competition where ten to 15 companies pitch in front of a group of judges made up of executives and venture capitalists.
If you can’t attend the event in person, you can watch a live stream at: https://awe.live/home.
#6. GITEX Global Xverse
Location: Dubai World Trade Center
Date: October 16-20, 2023
Price: Registration Closed
The GITEX Global Xverse is one of the largest tech shows in the world, featuring one of the world’s best large-scale exhibitions. Inspired by Dugai’s vision and roadmap to become a top 10 metaverse city, the event unites the world’s most advanced tech ecosystems and encompasses everything from sports, gaming, hardware, fashion, music, retail art, banking, and more.
Other Ways to Participate
Metaverse events provide an excellent way to stay atop new trends and technologies, but there are other ways to stay current, too. Using these techniques, you can explore the metaverse from the comfort of your home or office and keep abreast of the latest developments.
Some alternative strategies to get up to speed include:
- Participation – Nothing beats participating in metaverse platforms, whether Roblox, Decentraland, or business-focused venues. These communities are pushing the boundaries of the metaverse daily and offer a great way to stay current with the latest trends.
- Niche Down – The metaverse encompasses many technologies, ranging from decentralized finance (DeFi) to augmented reality (AR). As a result, there are many opportunities to learn more about specific segments apart from the whole.
- Build – Creators and developers can learn quickly by building new solutions within the metaverse. Experimenting with existing tools and libraries makes it easier to see the metaverse’s potential and explore its applicability to different use cases.
- Courses – Many metaverse courses can help bring business people and other end users up to speed without getting too technical. Universities or individuals may offer these courses through platforms like Coursera or Udemy.
The Bottom Line
The metaverse is a nascent technology that could transform our lives, work, and play. If you’re a business owner or enthusiast, metaverse events are an excellent way to keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs and developers can find opportunities to pitch and present to gain exposure or funding.
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The above is for general information purposes only and should not be interpreted as professional advice. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax, or other advice specific to your particular situation.
