One of the many things that makes Orlando “Unbelievably Real” is that it’s home to a flourishing cluster of companies building the key enabling technologies for the metaverse, making Orlando the MetaCenter.
At the intersection of entertainment, defense and tech, as well as being renowned as the modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) capital of the world, Orlando is on the leading edge of augmented/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, gaming, internet of things and 3D reconstruction. The Orlando region is also where the metaverse is brought to the physical world, with Disney and Universal immersing guests in virtual worlds through experiential entertainment and rides.
“Orange County is a destination that welcomes millions of visitors each year who come here to experience cutting-edge entertainment and technology,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “The innovations happening here will be experienced not only in the virtual metaverse, but also in the physical world, where the metaverse is brought to life in our world-famous theme parks.”
As the building blocks of the metaverse take shape, Orlando’s tech companies are playing a major role in developing this new world, which Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley pegged as an $8 trillion growth opportunity.
“After watching intently for years as the building blocks of this new frontier unfold, the metaverse is taking shape — and it is evident that Orlando’s tech companies play a big part in developing this new world,” said David Adelson, Orlando Economic Partnership chief innovation officer. “There’s no other region in the world that combines creativity, technology and innovation like we do, and that’s what makes Orlando the MetaCenter.”
The Orlando Economic Partnership is taking the entire region into the metaverse, working with Unity to create a digital twin of the 40-square-mile metro area that will use new 3D technology to map out scenarios on everything from infrastructure to real estate to talent availability to climate change. The Orlando region has one of the highest concentrations of Unity licenses in the country, thanks to the number of local companies working in modeling, simulation and training, as well as theme parks, gaming and entertainment.
Orlando is a breeding ground for the virtual content used in defense, entertainment and health care thanks to the region’s educational partners, which are producing talent with the specific skills companies need to build the metaverse.
“It’s not just Orlando companies paving the way for the future of the metaverse, but our universities,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “From the University of Central Florida to Full Sail University, we are seeing students graduating well versed in modeling simulation and AR/VR. With 550,000 college students within a 100-mile radius of Orlando, there is no comparison in the country when it comes to young talent. We are training the workforce of the future.”
This density of and easy access to talent and expertise is what Cathy Hackl, chief metaverse officer of consulting firm Futures Intelligence Group and a strategist on the MetaCenter plan, says continues to attract innovative startups and global enterprises to our region.
“From simulation and modeling to game development, world building and even Imagineering, Orlando houses not only the talent, but also the business-friendly climate incentives that are needed to develop the metaverse,” said Hackl, who is popularly known as the Godmother of the Metaverse. “As the future of the web takes shape, it’s clear the Orlando region is becoming the MetaCenter that will have a huge impact in the short- and long-term evolution of the metaverse.”
Hackl, a globally recognized tech futurist and metaverse/Web3 advisor to top brands, has paved the virtual I-4 to the digital world. Through her work at Magic Leap and her close relationship with Full Sail University, she’s experienced firsthand how the tech ecosystem from Orlando to South Florida has become a global epicenter where technology meets creativity, enabling the future of the internet.
The metaverse is the future, and it’s being built right here in the MetaCenter. You can learn more and get involved by visiting TheMetaCenter.org.
The Orlando Economic Partnership is the Orlando region’s economic and community development organization that is seizing the moment to advance Broad-based Prosperity® by growing the economy, driving investment into the region and fueling regional leadership.