Tencent, the Chinese technology and entertainment giant, announced the creation of its own meta-universe division. The division, called the Augmented Reality Unit, will be tasked with covering all efforts related to the meta-universe, including hardware and software development. The company reportedly plans to hire more than 300 people in this division, and Tencent attaches great importance to it even among cost-cutting measures.
Tencent officially announces the creation of the Metaverse division
Tencent, one of China’s largest software companies, has taken another step toward breaking into the metaverse. According to Reuters, the Chinese technology and entertainment giant announced the creation of its augmented reality division, which will cover all the initiatives the company will implement in order to enter the market driven by the meta-universe.
The division will be led by Global’s current chief technology officer, Li Shen, and will become part of the company’s entertainment division. Although there is still little information about the direction the division will take, sources say that the company will produce both software and hardware products for the meta-universe. This means that Tencent could become a strong contender for companies such as Meta and Microsoft. in the east with hypothetical AR and XI hardware production.
Putting the weight on top
The augmented reality division doesn’t look like just another division in Tencent’s corporate structure. Supposedly, the unit has been classified since early this year. The company aims to have a staff of more than 300 people engaged in various projects based on the meta-universe.
This speaks eloquently to the importance Tencent places on meta-universe and augmented reality projects, even as the company takes cost-cutting measures and slows down hiring due to macroeconomic market conditions, with the unit considered a passion project by Tencent’s founder. But sources have also indicated that this vision could change in the future depending on the focus and performance of the device.
Other companies, such as Meta, are also investing in meta-universe devices and platforms to gain the upper hand when it comes to meta-universe hardware and software, aiming to be the first to introduce a holistic virtual reality platform. However, this will cause them to lose money in R&D, as Meta recently admitted.
There have also been attempts to finalize meta-universe standards. Meta, Microsoft and other companies, such as Epic Games, launched the Metaworld Standards Forum with the idea of gathering information on open events to coordinate the creation of jointly created standards for metaworld platforms.
