The Metaverse

A $5 Trillion Opportunity by 2030, Fueled by Corporate Investment and Consumer Adoption

In June 2022, analysis valued metaverse activities at $200 billion to $300 billion. This figure has since grown, and within the next eight years, it could reach $4 trillion to $5 trillion, at a CAGR of 42.1% (Exhibit 1). This exponential growth is driven by several factors: the metaverse’s broad appeal across demographics and regions, consumer readiness to invest in digital assets, openness to new technologies, significant corporate investments in infrastructure, and positive consumer responses to brand experiments within the metaverse.

Investment in emerging technologies doesn’t ensure their success but highlights the thorough evaluation and perceived potential by companies and institutions. In 2022 alone, over $120 billion has been invested in the metaverse, more than doubling the $57 million from 2021 (Exhibit 2), as tech giants, startups, and established brands aim to seize this growth opportunity. For instance, Andreessen Horowitz launched Games Fund One, allocating $600 million to invest in game studios and metaverse infrastructure. While distinct from the metaverse, cryptocurrencies attracted over $30 billion in 2021, reflecting a shared belief in a forthcoming technological shift. Metaverse-related investments now surpass those in AI at a similar development stage, with significant M&A activity like Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard underscoring the metaverse’s potential as a digital frontier.