Translucia: Master of the Global Metaverse
As the real and virtual converge, we may soon live a great deal of our lives as avatars, working, shopping and socializing in a massive communal cyberspace that extends beyond our physical world.
Welcome to the metaverse. Author Neal Stephenson introduced the term in his 1992 dystopian novel Snow Crash, where humans interacted with one another as avatars in a three-dimensional virtual space. While modern definitions vary, many view the metaverse as a natural successor of the internet—an immersive virtual realm that exists around us all the time and promises to reshape how we interact with, and experience, the world.
“The metaverse is a new global megatrend that we’re now bringing to the business sector, including social development,” says Dr. Jwanwat Ahriyavraromp, CEO and Founder of T&B Media Global (Thailand).
Therein lie huge opportunities. In the metaverse, jobs that once required interacting in person could offer virtual options. Brands can expand their online presence, reach a wider audience, and find new ways to engage with customers. Entertainment will enable people to play games, create art and attend virtual concerts. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“The metaverse will drive and transform business in every sector, from entertainment to real estate, retail, and even healthcare,” says Thippaporn Ahriyavraromp, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC). “Industries and businesses will be able to use the metaverse as a tool to create new business divisions, to add market value and create solutions in all dimensions, including a good society beyond our imagination.”
If You Build It, They Will Come
The metaverse does not yet exist. In fact, today, it remains little more than a vision. But several companies are committing research, talent, and large sums of money to building the metaverse. Facebook, for instance, recently announced a stand-alone product group internally tasked with building out this vision.[1] And Roblox is building games for the metaverse, which it views as the future of communication.[2]
One of the most exciting steps toward the metaverse comes from Thailand’s T&B Media Global. In September, the company launched Translucia—Thailand’s first virtual world. Translucia launched with a first-stage investment of THB10 billion ($295 million) that will lead to an ultimate value of at least THB100 billion ($2.95 billion).
“Translucia will contribute to society and business, transforming how we experience life,” Ahriyavraromp says. “The connection between the real and virtual worlds will bring a new economy. A variety of innovations and advanced technologies will combine with imagination and creativity to give everyone a new experience, seamlessly connecting work, socializing, entertainment, and other activities. The metaverse will be a gateway to the sustainable, high-quality society we all seek.”
T&B Media Global (Thailand) established a subsidiary, Tree Roots Entertainment Group, and a venture builder team, Wasabi Global Innovation Ventures, to develop the Translucia metaverse. As the project progresses, Ahriyavraromp is confident that it will create new opportunities for businesses and people alike.
“I’m confident that the business world will be revolutionized, becoming a magical realm where anything can be achieved, and everyone is happy and well. It will allow people to build sustainable new careers. Translucia will be a virtual world that realizes all our dreams.”Real Estate Made for a Digital World
Digital real estate will play a vital role in the metaverse. Users will be able to create whatever they want on these digital plots of land, which can be bought and sold just like physical real estate. As people buy digital art and need places to showcase it, and as companies look to establish virtual stores in the metaverse, the value of virtual real estate could rise.
MQDC views this as a huge opportunity. In turn, it will be the first property developer in Translucia. It will develop a city in this virtual world as it prepares to create a new entity, MQDC Metaverse, responsible for urban development and virtual real estate projects.
“MQDC Metaverse will be the world's first real estate company to establish and develop a connection between real-world and virtual projects,” Ahriyavraromp says. “We intend to make this virtual world a beautiful world with imagination, happiness, and a warm community. We can also invent new experiences for customers and service users. Customers can own a house or condominium in both the real and the virtual worlds, with associated benefits. This will allow us to create a world of happiness, sustainnovation, and well-being in perfect harmony.”
The metaverse could deliver the next big technological leap. Much like the internet evolved over the past thirty years from a place to send static text to an integral part of our daily shopping, working and entertainment routines, the metaverse could completely change how we derive value in the virtual realm in the decades ahead. As that future takes root, Translucia promises to become a virtual motherland for people around the world.
