Korea’s Ministry of Science and Technology has doubled down on its metaverse bets for the future by approving a $51 million investment in various metaverse projects. The investment includes a fund to support the growth of metaverse companies and another special investment to build several services, including regional projects.
Korea continues to invest in Metaverse
While interest in the Metaverse by some private companies has begun to cool, South Korea is doubling down on its bet to continue supporting the local Metaverse economy. South Korea has announced two initiatives to support metaverse projects and companies building products on top of virtual worlds.
The first of these, announced on March 8,constitutes the Metaverse Growth Fund, which will allow companies wishing to develop virtual projects to obtain funding directly from the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. For this purpose, the agency has allocated $30 million.
The second project,announced a day later,concerns the development of 13 specific initiatives involving metaverse in various convergence areas, including technology, regional projects, public sector and industry. This second project has allocated $21 million for its completion.
The national budget is said to be “more necessary than ever”
The South Korean agency recognized that the current weakness of the global economy makes it difficult for this type of enterprise to raise funds privately. In this regard, Oh Young-soo, software policy officer at the Ministry of Science, Information and Communication, said.
Deteriorating economic conditions at home and abroad have dried up private venture investment. Government support is needed more than ever. Now is the time to do it.
Since last year, the Korean government has been aggressively investing in the growth of the country’s metaverse industry, injecting millions of dollars directly into companies in this field. in May, Lim Hye-sook, head of Korea’s Ministry of Science, Information and Communication, announced a $177 million investment in metaverse companies, at the time In May, Lim announced a $177 million investment in Metaverse Enterprises, making it one of the first countries to inject funds directly into the sector at that time.
In June, the ministry also announced a program to recruit companies to be part of a metaverse content production project. The program aims to kick-start a local movement for content production in the metaverse as part of the country’s strategy to pioneer the metaverse industry.
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