UAE’s Damac Group to invest $100m in metaverse project

UAE-based Damac Group, the parent company of property development company Damac Properties, has announced plans to enter the metaverse.

Damac plans to invest up to $100m for its latest project to build digital cities. The metaverse project will be run under a division called D-Labs which will be led by Ali Sajwani, who will serve as CEO of D-Labs as well as Damac general manager.

The initiative forms part of a larger push by the group towards digital assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). All existing Damac customers will receive priority in the new initiative.

A Market Research Future (MRF) finding observed that the metaverse market was worth $21.91bn in 2020. The metaverse could provide nearly $800bn in revenue by 2024, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates.

Beginning last year, Damac Properties began offering home buyers a 3D virtual experience that utilises virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

The metaverse experience will combine AR and VR technology with extended reality (XR) technology that Damac describes as “real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables where users can get the feel of ‘living’ an experience.”

Its digital push will range from virtual homes, digital property, as well as digital wearables, and digital jewellery through the company’s acquisitions of Swiss jewellers de Grisogono, and Italian fashion brand Roberto Cavalli.

D-Lab’s digital experiences offerings will also allows guests to virtual visit the Mandarin Oriental Resort Bolidhuffaru, which is a part of the Damac’s hotels, resorts and serviced apartments portfolio.

“Over the past two years we have been aggressively driving our digitisation efforts, and this new initiative into the metaverse will only further leverage our digital footprint. As well as updating our systems, processes and operations across departments, we have been investing in building a strong team of skilled and talented experts to help support our ambitions of being a digital leader,” said Hussain Sajwani, founder of Damac.

“In an attempt to mould to the progressive trends of business, we are expanding our offerings into the metaverse realm to avail of the many opportunities it presents. We are keen to pioneer the possibilities that the metaverse offers in ways which allow us to be more connected and involved with our customers and their interests.”

At the recently concluded World Government Summit, the Dubai Municipality confirmed that it will work with private sector companies and investors to create a futuristic, human-centred version of the city that capitalises on opportunities offered by the metaverse.

Read: World Government Summit 2022: Dubai announces plan to enter metaverse