China’s tech giants push toward a metaverse opportunity

China’s tech giants have an interest in the metaverse.

The world’s most valuable companies are racing to build the next great platform for digital entertainment and communication. But their plans will come with a heavy government regulation — and the prospect of much higher taxes if they choose to list on American soil.

China’s tech titans have set their sights on the $8 trillion entertainment and communications sector, dominated by social media and search engines like Facebook and Google. It is also home to a growing number of entertainment-focused startups like TikTok. China’s tech giants are instead looking to partner with them rather than compete with the world’s largest tech companies.

The metaverse with Chinese characteristics would be the virtual world in the world’s second-largest economy. China’s tech companies are beginning to invest in the metaverse. The latest buzz in internet technology shows this interest.

Censorship will likely be high with tight regulations. Beijing continues to keep a close examination of the practices of its domestic technology companies.

U.S. companies like Meta are going all-in on the metaverse concept. At the same time, Microsoft positioned its suggested acquisition of gaming company Activision as a play on this idea.

Chinese companies are trying to take a more cautious approach.

Overview of the plan of China’s tech giants

In China, the total market for the metaverse could be 53 trillion yuan, equal to around $8 trillion. Morgan Stanley talked about this in a note published last month.

Companies like NetEase, Tencent, ByteDance, and Alibaba could be the front-runners among China’s internet companies. Analysts say that social media, virtual reality, and gaming could be early applications. This might also include creating digital avatars of yourself or buying virtual items in games to participate in meetings.

Managing partner at CloudTree Ventures, Winston Ma, told CNBC that the Metaverse is the future of social networks.