Facebook Forms $50M Investment Fund to Build Metaverse

Facebook is going to spend $50M over the coming 2 years under its new XR Programs and Research Fund. It will invest in external research.

World’s largest social network company, Facebook on Monday announced an investment fund called XR Programs and Research Fund to aid research for building the Metaverse.

Facebook defines Metaverse as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.”

The Vision of the Fund

The Fund will invest in research and program partners to make sure “products are developed responsibly”.

The social media behemoth has identified key values and risks to anticipate and overcome:

Economic Opportunity – to promote healthy competition and choices to the users.

Privacy – to minimize the data used to build the Metaverse and giving people control over their data. 

Safety and Integrity – to keep people safe online and giving them courses of action to or help.

and Equity and Inclusion – to promote inclusivity.

Facebook Believes in Collaboration

Even after witnessing the explosive growth this year, the company believes that it can take well over a decade to build the Metaverse.

Furthermore, it stated that no single company or entity will be able to create the Metaverse. That’s why it aims to collaborate with others.

“Its success depends on building robust interoperability across services, so different companies’ experiences can work together”, Facebook emphasized.

Facebook is going to collaborate with the government, industry, and academia to solve the issues and create opportunities in the metaverse.

Its partners include Organization of American States, Africa No Filter, Electric South and Imisi3D, Women In Immersive Tech, Seoul National University, The University of Hong Kong, Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & the Law at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, and Howard University.

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