As a kid, I was dazzled by early immersive experiences like Space Mountain at Walt Disney World Resort and the IMAX theater at Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry. Merely “cute” by today’s technology standards, entertainment innovations like these were blazing a trail toward the emergence of the metaverse.
Whether rising to meet the rigor and demand of the defense industrial base or feeding the insatiable appetite of a bustling entertainment economy, for decades Florida businesses have been developing all the basic building blocks of the metaverse. The first sparks of the proverbial metaverse fire, and Florida-Man was striking the flint.
How did we get here? Orlando and the MetaCenter
Bucking national perceptions of Florida – God’s Waiting Room, alligators, mosquitos the size of hawks, sun-blistered tourists at theme parks – in May the Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP) dubbed Orlando “the MetaCenter.” In an interview with Venture Beat, David Adelson, the OEP’s chief innovation officer, positions the MetaCenter as a natural progression of Florida tech. “We’re not building new industries to handle the metaverse,” Adelson said. “We’ve had these industries in our pocket for a decade or more already (in Orlando).”
In Florida, the presence of three major military commands and NASA fueled the demand for the foundational modeling, simulation and T=training industry (MST) that underpins the development of the metaverse. According to a study commissioned by the Florida High Tech Corridor, the MST industry in Florida emerged as early as 1943 and represents $8 billion in state economic output annually. Six billion dollars of that figure is generated in the Central Florida area alone.
Global entertainment giants like Disney and Universal Studios led to a talent rich environment with a critical density of developers and agencies experienced in creating the digital realms reminiscent of the metaverse. In July, Florida-grown entertainment enterprise Falcon’s Beyond announced their intent to go public at a healthy $1 billion valuation. Florida’s video game industry alone ranked No. 4 nationwide with an economic impact of $2.7 billion. Fanning the flames, Florida universities offer top-ranked programs like the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) at University of Central Florida. Over the last 3 years, FIEA’s graduate program ranked No. 1 in the nation for game design.
Recently Electronic Arts — world famous for simulation games like FIFA, Madden and the Sims — opened an office in Orlando’s Creative Village adjacent to FIEA. The gaming behemoth has pledged royalty free use of their patented accessibility tech, expanding access to virtual worlds for players of diverse visual, speech, hearing and cognitive abilities. Patents like these are transferable to the development of a more inclusive metaverse.
Meanwhile, Orlando-based startup 302 Interactive is empowering creators of all kinds to build a truly open metaverse. 302’s new platform, Easel, will allow creators from diverse backgrounds and skillsets to leverage composable design, with interoperability standards built-in and publishing capabilities — making for a metaverse that is more open, connected and flexible.
Metaverse development in Tallahassee, Miami and Tampa
In a recent report, McKinsey and Co. estimate the metaverse will represent a total market impact of $5 trillion by 2030. While skeptics may question these figures, in 2022 alone $120 billion was invested in the metaverse and consumers spend more than $80 billion annually on in-game purchases for virtual goods. Technology like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) unlock virtual-to-physical and physical-to-virtual commerce models and are already transforming the way businesses interact with consumers today. Major innovation hubs across Florida are leading the development of the metaverse enablers behind these new models – including blockchain, crypto, NFTs and cyber security – and the potential economic impact is huge.
The Tampa Bay-St. Pete-Clearwater region is a formidable hub of cybersecurity, boasting unicorns such as ReliaQuest and KnowBe4. Blockchain innovator BlockSpaces and crypto unicorn Pocket Network also launched in Tampa Bay. The city of Miami recently announced a collaboration with TIME, Mastercard and Salesforce to leverage NFTs as economic development tools driving business locally. Offering exclusive access to unique local offers to select NFT holders, Miami sets an early example of potential marketing opportunities leading to real-world consumer interactions. Earlier this year Tallahassee-based artist Kenny Maguire blended the lines between the physical and digital world with his new art installation, “Alternate Realities,” featuring traditional canvas paintings brought to life in the metaverse via QR code.
Where are we headed? Synapse Orlando to reveal future directions
Accenture predicts while, “we are in the early days of the metaverse, leaders who shy away from the uncertainty of the metaverse will soon be operating in worlds defined by others.” Synapse Florida is working to make that realm more democratized by bringing innovators of every background to the table. On Oct. 21, the organization will convene more than 2,000 people, including high-tech talent, enterprise businesses, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, to join the pioneers of the metaverse for the annual Synapse Orlando conference.
Not just for techies, the conference presents an important opportunity for the whole community. In partnership with the Orlando Tech Council, the OEP and title sponsor Falcon’s Beyond, Synapse Orlando will connect attendees with educational content, thought leadership and opportunities to engage hands on with the metaverse.
The effort is attracting influential creators in the metaverse, including keynote speaker Timoni West. West leads the emerging tools division for Unity and recently partnered with the city of Orlando to develop a digital twin of the city, virtually replicating every aspect of the city of Orlando in a fully-virtual metaverse.
It remains to be seen how the metaverse will truly impact our day-to-day lives, but these bad tech predictions of the past century remind me to keep an open mind. Curious community members and technologists alike can join me this October with opportunities to attend Synapse Orlando.
Committing her personal and professional life to building economic prosperity and inclusive communities in the State of Florida, Raechel Canipe is the director of community engagement at Synapse Florida.
