Damac set to enter world of Metaverse, plans $100m investment

UAE-based business conglomerate, the Damac Group is set to embark into the world of the metaverse and build its own digital cities, becoming one of the pioneers in the GCC to do so.

It is the parent company of global property development company Damac Properties, data centre firm Edgnex, luxury jeweller de-Grisogono and fashion house Roberto Cavalli. The Group plans to invest a capital up to $100 million for the project.

The group will be run under the banner, D-Labs’, and will be led by Ali Sajwani, the CEO of D-Labs and Damac General Manager.

The initiative forms part of the company-wide ambitions to move into digital assets and non-fungible tokens (NFT), and in his new role as CEO, Sajwani has been tasked to deliver the organisation’s goal of being a leading global digital brand.

On the strategic move, Founder Hussain Sajwani said: "In an attempt to mold 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."

"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," remarked Sajwani.

Since last year, the group’s real estate arm, Damac Properties has been offering home buyers a 3D virtual experience that utilises virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

This is a stepping stone into the metaverse realm, considered to be a digital universe made up of VR, AR and extended reality (XR) that refers to ‘all 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.

"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," stated Sajwani.

Through this move, Damac Group hopes to branch out its services to cater to the needs of the entire Group when it comes to digital assets – ranging 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, respectively.

"Digital experiences is also part of the offering, where guests will be able to get a virtual treat of the Mandarin Oriental Resort Bolidhuffaru, which is part of the Group’s hotels, resorts and serviced apartments portfolio," explained Ali Sajwani.

"We plan to continue this exercise, and expand our team and know-how," he added.-TradeArabia News Service