Webinar: The Future of XR Industry in Silicon Valley and Taiwan

Eager to know the latest trends in the development of the Metaverse and XR industry in the US? A webinar invited Taiwanese entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley to share their insights on immersive technology and the investment environment in the metaverse.

Taipei City, Taiwan - October 11, 2022 —

Eager to know the latest trends in the development of the Metaverse and XR industry in the US? XR EXPRESS Taiwan, sponsored by National Development Council, hosted an online conference between Taiwan and Silicon Valley on the 6th of Oct, inviting Taiwanese entrepreneurs working in Silicon Valley to share their insights on immersive technology, the investment environment in the metaverse, and the cultivation of the next generation of talents. 

Extended reality (XR) is one of the emerging technologies across the world. XR encompasses immersive technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality. Although the XR market was valued at USD 25.84 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 397.81 billion by 2026, XR start-ups in Silicon Valley worry that venture capital might decline.

Embedded in the development of Web 3.0 is the continuing emergence of the metaverse. Jackie Lee, the founder of ScienceVR, noticed that the pandemic has brought a fundamental change in people’s daily life. Since 2021, the metaverse has become one of the hottest trends in the world. However, compared to Web 2.0, the concept of Web 3.0 is much more complicated hence the market and funding may not be able to keep up with the pace of Metaverse progress.

Due to the economic recession and the raised interest rates in the US, valuations of many start-ups shrink, says James Lee, the CEO of MomentX Metaverse. As the valuation of start-ups follows the rise in interest rates, “the more the dollar rises, the lower the valuation of the company”. For example, the valuation of many crypto companies is declined to nearly 50% this year, and some are even down to 30%, which makes investors conservative.

However, two Taiwanese entrepreneurs are optimistic about this investment trend. For the positive development of the XR industry, we need a crash to prevent a massive influx of hot money, says James Lee. He suggested, start-ups can apply for incubators or accelerators in Web 2.0. Build a solid foundation from the training of web 2 and then move to innovations and applications in web 3.0. When start-ups can do these during a capital crisis, they are likely to be more strategic in their business.

To expand the market under the US monetary policy, Jackie also recommended start-ups find accelerator programs or seek to join ventures with local firms. Given the relatively low salary levels of engineers in Taiwan, another good strategy for start-ups is following the “TSMC's model” by locating their R&D teams in Taiwan and reaping the benefits from overseas markets such as the US, Jackie says.

Andy Peng, the President of TAVAR, believes that there will be more and more opportunities for innovative companies in web 3.0. Although there are not many users of web 3 at the moment, he is optimistic that 2024 will see significant growth, with more successful innovations than expected in terms of hardware, platforms and social communities.

In contrast to the bear market, Andy is more concerned about the talent shortage in Taiwan. James pointed out that the top talents in Silicon Valley prefer to work for global technology giants such as Google, Apple or Instagram. For them, metaverse is a part of the gaming industry, just packaged under a new name to sell the old products. Even though big companies have established web 3.0 research teams, it might take 3 to 4 years to decide whether to invest money in XR technology.

Back in Taiwan, entrepreneurs are looking forward to the governmental policy to support start-ups in recruiting innovative talents to help develop the XR industry.

Contact Info:
Name: Abbie Cheng
Email: Send Email
Organization: Taiwan Association for Virtual and Augmented Reality
Website: https://www.tavar.tw/news.aspx

Release ID: 89082987

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