MTS AI

History

2023: MTS invests $100 million to create its own metaverse

At the end of January 2023, MTS announced the investment of $100 million in the creation of its own metaverse. The project will be implemented by the participants of the MTS AI accelerator, which will be selected by startups, including international ones.

As MTS told Kommersant, the telecom operator is creating a metaverse so that customers and interested companies that can sell their services in virtual reality can use it.

The client will be able to receive any services in the metaverse - from changing the tariff plan to subscribing to the book service "Strings" or the online cinema Kion, - indicated in MTS.

MTS intends to carry out a pilot launch of the metaverse in 2023. The platform will support all virtual and augmented reality devices.

Leonid Novozhilov, director of digital technology development at Rostelecom, believes that significant progress in metaverse technology will be achieved only in three to five years. The founder of the portal rawg.io Haji Makhtiev believes that "the main problem remains the lack of the necessary software and gadgets that can support the program." The interlocutors of the publication also indicated that MTS's announced investments in the project would not be enough.

Tele2 notes that the metaverse is "content for 5G," the development of which in Russia by January 2023 is "difficult," which interferes with the development of the metaverse and makes it not very attractive to investors. The source of the newspaper in the IT market also doubts the prospects for the MTS project due to the lack of 5G networks in Russia. In addition, investments of $100 million are not enough - since Meta (the company's activities in Russia are recognized as extremist and prohibited) cannot attract a mass audience even with "multibillion-dollar investments." ^[1]

Notes