The leaders of Dubai have decided that it's a smart strategy to go all-in on the metaverse with its recent launch of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy.

The overall thesis is that if they invest time/money/energy into building out the metaverse economy, they will become #1 in their region, as well as one of the top 10 in the world.

"His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed underscored the importance of consolidating Dubai’s status as a hub offering the most advanced ecosystem for the metaverse and as a frontrunner in adopting digital solutions globally, which reflects the ambitious vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for transforming the emirate into a global capital of advanced technologies, primarily artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3."

If you've ever been to Dubai or know anything about it, then you know that they invest heavily in being high-tech and new—with many of their projects not necessarily having real viability when it comes to legitimate & needed use. When it comes to the metaverse, hopefully, their thesis is correct, and they find a way to legitimize the metaverse not only for the MENA region but also for the rest of the world.

"The Dubai Metaverse Strategy supports the development of Web3 technology and its applications to create new governmental work models and development in vital sectors, including tourism, education, retail, remote work, healthcare, and the legal sector. The strategy also aims to develop global standards in building safe and secure platforms for users and develop metaverse infrastructure and regulations to accelerate the adoption of these technologies.

The strategy’s key pillars focus on extended reality (which blends the physical and virtual worlds), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, and digital twins (a virtual representation of an object or system). The strategy aims at leveraging real-time data, using machine learning and IoT, and employing AI simulation and blockchain to enhance the human thinking processes."

Once the metaphorical cat was out of the bag when it came to the discovery of the internet, every industry on the face of the planet has been forced to adopt it... or die out. Based on the above excerpt, it's clear that Dubai believes that the metaverse will have the same effect on the industries of today, as well as industries that have yet to be seen.

While it's been a struggle for AR/VR to get fully adopted, maybe we were just too early, and there wasn't the proper infrastructure to do so. With Dubai releasing its metaverse strategy, I think we'll start to see these technologies adopted more rapidly, especially as more metaverse experiences become available for people to partake in. The memo also stresses the importance of data, network, cloud, and edge computing as pillars of this metaverse strategy, which should likely see an increase in the value of companies that are specializing in these sectors.

By Dubai taking a stand a launching a legitimate metaverse strategy, I'm sure we'll start to see more places around the world do the same. It'll be exciting to see how this all unfolds, and I'll be sure to keep you updated!