Shanghai Plans to Cultivate $52B Metaverse Industry by 2025

Shanghai wants to create more than 100 companies in a plan that focuses on virtual reality and increased connectivity.

AccessTimeIconJul 12, 2022 at 1:28 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. UTC
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A policy paper released by the Shanghai city government on July 8 outlined its strategy to cultivate a metaverse industry worth 350 billion yuan ($52 billion) by the end of 2025.

  • Shanghai is looking at "strengthening cutting-edge technological breakthroughs," with a focus on virtual reality headsets, chips, cloud computing and 5G technology.
  • It also has plans to cultivate 10 "chain-owner" enterprises that will compete on an international scale, while creating more than 100 companies that master core metaverse technologies.
  • China's most populated city drafted a metaverse development plan in December, in which it set out a five-year goal to increase research of underlying technologies including sensors and the use of blockchain.
  • Data compiled by Statista indicates that interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse is greater in China, Singapore and Hong Kong than in Europe or the U.S.
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    Oliver Knight

    Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.


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