The Spanish government has allocated about €4 million for developing the metaverse sector. Shanghai is ready to support over 100 companies working on metaverses. According to estimates, the Chinese segment of the industry alone will be worth $52 billion by 2025.
Spanish analysts predict a global surge in the development of metaverse-related businesses by 2026. In this regard, the government has approved €3.8 million in grants for developers of the metaverse sector in Spain, local media reports.
Government grants will be available for small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in experimental development and innovative projects related to Web 3.0 and metaverses. Grants will primarily go to gaming and entertainment content developers, and the second round of grants will support projects related to VR and AR.
Grants will be issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. Companies wishing to get government funding must meet certain requirements:
- Having a business plan and a roadmap for the projects being developed. A key condition is a clear rationale for the project’s purpose, which must comply with the sector development policy of the Ministry.
- Legal registration in Spain or the EU.
- The staff must include at least 25% of women.
The initiative is part of the government’s plan to develop Spain within the Digital Spain 2026 strategy. Recall that Spain is already under active development to create a Catalan metaverse called Cataverse.
The Shanghai government also intends to invest in the metaverse sector and has recently published a development plan for the industry. It includes the creation and state support of more than 100 hotel companies that will develop in the field of “cutting-edge technology.” Of these, ten promising enterprises are to be brought to the international market.
According to the unveiled plan, the government is optimistic about the sector’s future, which can reach an estimated 350 billion yuan (~$52 billion) by the end of 2025 in China alone. The main areas of technology development for the metaverse in Shanghai will be:
- VR headsets;
- microelectronics;
- cloud computing;
- 5G technologies.
At the end of last year, a Shanghai city department published a five-year development plan to promote the use of the metaverse in public services, business centers and other areas.
The UAE is also paying special attention to the metaverse industry, where the first-ever virtual hospital will soon be created. The Dubai authorities are planning to open offices of some governmental organizations in the metaverse.
The CAR wants to create a virtual economic zone in the metaverse as part of the Sango crypto hub project, and a Thai-Australian Metaverse Research and Development Centre will be up and running in Melbourne soon.
