Chinau2019s biggest city Shanghai has announced that it will be allocating $1.5 billion (10 billion yuan) to its metaverse development fund. The fund comes in wake of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology issuing its interest in the metaverse as a u2018frontier for explorationu2019 back in December 2021.u00a0
As per the words of the cityu2019s head of Economy and Information Technology at a press conference last week, the money will go towards creating 10 u2018leadingu2019 companies and 100 small-sized firms that will specialise in u2018benchmarking products and servicesu2019.u00a0
The fund will also contribute to the countryu2019s developments in smart terminal technologies (i.e. VR headsets, smart home gadgets, robots, and smart vehicles, etc.) that also extend into the realms of healthcare, elderly care, and transportation.u00a0
In addition, the fund will u2018nurtureu2019 10 industry leaders and 1,000 specialised companies that operate in low-carbon industrial fields for hydrogen energy development, high-end energy equipment, and low-carbon metallurgy.
Overall, the three aforementioned industries (i.e. the metaverse, smart terminal tech, and low-carbon energy) are expected to have a combined worth of $224 billion by 2025.u00a0
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