California-based firm Clipo Labs has developed Multiverse, a decentralized metaverse-as-a-service platform with photorealistic graphics. Multiverse provides users with a cost-effective way to enter the metaverse – they can either create their own metaverse environments, purchase a pre-fabricated virtual environment from Multiverse, or work with the company’s creative studio and have one custom built for them.
Multiverse’s environments use its proprietary interactive immersive reality (IIR) technology, which creates a fully interactive, photorealistic environment, accessible through all mobile devices and VR headsets. Each environment is capable of hosting thousands of users, with their customizable avatars able to communicate with each other through social networking features and voice chat.
Businesses can sell products and services through the environment, and users have the ability to broadcast audio-visual content. Users can also connect various Web 3.0 technologies such as their crypto wallets to their environment and integrate e-commerce features.
In 2020 and 2021, Multiverse hosted the Burning Man music festival, after the in-person editions were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The environment simulated 7 square miles of Black Rock City, the annual event’s venue, making it one of the largest virtual arts and music events in history. True to the festival’s spirit of gifting and communal effort, Multiverse created the virtual environment and published the technical specifications, and the community responded by creating around 80% of the content (i.e. the 3D objects representing the art pieces).
According to Faryar Ghazanfari, co-founder and CEO of Clipo Labs and Multiverse, the music festival’s attendees had an average session time of 45 minutes, which was previously unheard of in the metaverse events space. He says this finding proves the potential of metaverse as a viable and engaging venue for events and commerce.
Multiverse is also the metaverse provider for two of the largest global consulting firms, allowing them to host innovative and immersive corporate events, where speakers can give live talks and attendees can network and socialize.
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Ghazanfari says that one of Multiverse’s main strengths is ease of entry. Organizations do not need to spend large amounts of money to get on board the platform, unlike other metaverse platforms in the market.
“For other platforms, users have to purchase virtual real estate or pay for a speculative investment in cryptocurrency before they can build in the virtual environment. We do not believe in that model, because there’s no such thing as scarcity of real estate in the metaverse. Unlike planet Earth, which has a finite amount of land, the metaverse is completely made out of data. We also don’t take a cut from anything that users make in their environments, and they only need to pay for the infrastructure usage.”
According to Ghazanfari, Multiverse’s decentralized nature means that users own whatever they create on the platform, allowing users to sell or trade their creations as they see fit, without interference from the developer. On centralized virtual platforms, the developer reserves the right to ownership of assets created on the platform, which could lead to conflicts arising between developers and users.
“Our aim is to accelerate businesses’ and brands’ entry into the metaverse and promote widespread adoption. Many businesses want to dip their toes into the metaverse but are hesitant because they need to justify the huge investment to their boards. We allow these businesses to test out the metaverse, without having to spend huge amounts of money until they’re up and running.”
