Korean telecom giants bet on metaverse in 2024 amid anticipated XR boom

Metaverse platform Ifland [Courtesy of SK telecom]

South Korea’s three major mobile carriers are expected to continue to focus on metaverse content business next year despite sluggish sales of extended reality (XR) devices this year as anticipation grows over industry recovery.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, SK telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. are upping investments in metaverse-related technologies and platforms with an aim to expand global presence amid enhanced competition in the XR device market next year.

XR encompasses immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).

Apple Inc. plans to launch its high-end AR headset Vision Pro next year while Samsung Electronics Co. is developing an XR headset in collaboration with Google LLC and Qualcomm Inc.

In September, Meta Platform Inc. released its MR headset, which has shown strong sales.

SK telecom, the exclusive distributor of Meta Quest 3 in Korea, is enhancing collaboration, including joint development to enable its own metaverse platform Ifland to be used on Quest 3.

The company is planning to expand Ifland in overseas markets by promoting strategies that focus on K-pop content.

The number of subscribers surpassed 50 million in the third quarter of this year.

SK telecom is currently conducting tests with local telecom carriers in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia. The company plans to enter into the United States, India, and Europe.

KT plans to focus on new businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse by establishing a technology innovation division that integrates the information technology and research and development units.

The company also plans to promote its metaverse platform Genieverse that was launched in March in overseas markets next year.

In October, KT showcased an enhanced Genieverse incorporated with generative AI technology at a conference in Guangzhou, China.

With the application of generative AI, Genieverse can analyze and understand the context of user-entered text to create content. Additionally, the company plans to update the AI non-player character (NPC) based on its own hyperscale AI.

LG Uplus aims to compete with KidsTopia, a metaverse platform tailored for elementary school children, which was launched in May 2023.

KidsTopia was launched in North America in June, followed by Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, and Brunei. The plan for next year includes adding local language support and expanding into Japan, Taiwan, and South American countries.

LG Uplus is also engaged in a metaverse platform business with Uverse that is specialized for universities. Having established metaverse spaces for more than 10 universities, including Yonsei University, the goal is to secure over 100 universities within three years.

According to market projections by the market research firm IDC, the VR and AR market are projected to grow 47 percent next year from this year.

Global market research firm MarketsandMarkets projected the XR market will grow at an annual average of 22.7 percent to $111.5 billion in 2028 from $40.1 billion this year.