The latest trend in tech is the metaverse.
Many investors were introduced to a new technology buzzword when Facebook Inc. (ticker: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said the company’s long-term vision is to build a “metaverse.” Metaverse may be a new term to investors, but the idea has been around for a long time. The metaverse concept is about building integrated virtual online environments in which people live, work and play. A real-life “Matrix” may seem like science fiction, but the ideas of self-driving cars, smartphones or even the internet itself were all science fiction concepts at one point as well. Here are seven of the best metaverse stocks to buy today.
Facebook Inc. (FB)
Zuckerberg spoke about the Facebook metaverse vision on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “It’s a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at,” Zuckerberg said. In fact, the 1992 sci-fi novel “Snow Crash,” which first coined the term “metaverse,” is required reading for all Facebook management. Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision is also reportedly the justification for Facebook’s acquisition of virtual reality technology company Oculus VR and its recently announced Horizon VR universe. Needless to say, this company is at the forefront of this technological movement, easily making Facebook one of the best metaverse stocks to buy.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Microsoft may be the early leader in the professional metaverse. In a speech at Microsoft Inspire in July, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the concept of an “enterprise metaverse” — a new layer of Microsoft’s enterprise infrastructure stack. “With our metaverse stack, you can start with the digital twin to build a rich digital model of anything physical or logical, whether it’s assets, products, or complex environments spanning people, places, things and their interactions,” Nadella said. The Microsoft enterprise metaverse aims to integrate the Internet of Things, digital twins and mixed reality to help Microsoft grow its professional software market dominance.
Unity Software Inc. (U)
Unity Software owns one of the two main 3D video game engines. In fact, 94 out of the largest 100 game development studios use the Unity engine, which allows designers to customize how video game players move and interact within their games and with other players. If the metaverse is in fact the next generation of the internet, Unity may be the main company that helps people and businesses build unique metaverse presences — the equivalent of websites or social media pages today. Unity has also already built a live, functioning virtual model of Hong Kong International Airport, so there’s ample reason to consider Unity Software one of the top metaverse stocks in the market.
Roblox Corp. (RBLX)
Roblox is an online entertainment platform that allows creators to develop games. It may be the closest thing to a functioning metaverse today. The platform has its own digital currency and allows users to socialize and have unique virtual experiences such as a live digital concert by Lil Nas X in 2020. CEO David Baszucki even called the Roblox team “shepherds of the metaverse” in an investor presentation earlier this year. The metaverse may also provide a way to avoid the 30% fees Apple Inc. (AAPL) charges third-party app developers like Roblox to sell digital goods and services on Apple devices.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
Amazon has spoken for years about creating an “ecosystem” of shopping, entertainment and cloud services for its users. If the Amazon.com website is the dominant digital shopping destination on the internet, Amazon will likely look to maintain its dominance by establishing some form of virtual “Amazon mall” in the metaverse where shoppers interact with and buy digital products. In fact, Amazon has been cryptically working on developing “a completely new VR shopping experience” since 2018. Finally, cloud services leaders Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services will also both likely play a large role in building metaverse infrastructure.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
Walt Disney chief technology officer Tilak Mandadi has specifically mentioned the company’s long-term vision of building a Disneyland “theme park metaverse.” He says the theme parks of the future may no longer be limited by the physical world thanks to technology. “Imagine a day where guests can explore with pirates, train with heroes, dance with royalty and visit a galaxy far, far away without ever leaving their home,” Mandadi said last year. Disney has already been offering VR rides via 360-degree YouTube videos since 2016, but the next step may be an entire digital theme park experience.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
Nvidia produces the graphics and video processing chips used in high-end computing servers, supercomputers, and artificial intelligence and VR applications. The metaverse will certainly require a massive amount of processing power, and Nvidia chips will likely play a critical role. “The metaverse is coming,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said last year, noting that building games like Minecraft and Fortnight are the precursors to entire digital worlds. “Inhabitants of these early metaverses are building cities, gathering for concerts and events and connecting with friends,” Huang said. Nvidia has even already launched its own Omniverse digital platform for virtual collaboration and simulation.
These seven names are the top metaverse stocks to invest in:
— Facebook Inc. (FB)
— Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
— Unity Software Inc. (U)
— Roblox Corp. (RBLX)
— Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
— The Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
— Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
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7 Metaverse Stocks to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
