Nostraverse is one of the most exciting Metaverse projects to be launched thus far – and
their CEO and Founder, Sam Clever, has ambitious plans as he looks to drive forward the
Metaverse revolution.
Speaking exclusively to Crypto Intelligence News just days after it was announced that
Nostraverse would be launching a Dubai subsidiary in 2022, Sam Clever discussed the origins
of his project and the future of the Metaverse, among other things.
What made you decide to set up a Metaverse project?
In 2020, my son recommended that I buy an Oculus Quest One, given the growing
fascination with virtual reality. I took his advice and bought a an Oculus Quest One. And
when I actually used the VR device, I was intrigued. From there, I started to think about all
the possibilities of what we can expect in the future leveraging these kinds of technology.
Inspired by this experience, I immediately started a company, which later grew into
launching several additional companies. I found people, very good people, and I sold all my
assets. I let go of my other pursuits so I could solely concentrate on this one endeavor. And
last year, October, when Mark Zuckerberg announced that they changed the company’s
name from Facebook to Meta in reference to the Metaverse, we knew what we had.
Our driving idea was actually to create virtual environments and to connect them together.
And that’s how we built our web VR platform, which allows us to manage all 3D assets in a
single portal.
Our platform is incredibly efficient and stable. And from that day on after we heard there’s a
Metaverse, we knew what we had something big, so we started to create specific
environments for several use cases.
As for where we are today, we developed into a B2B2G, with the Metaverse as a service
platform. And we are a transformation partner for several use cases or for specific use cases
in the Metaverse. And this is just the beginning.
How does Nostraverse compare to other popular Metaverse projects such as the Sandbox?
There is a vast difference between a Sandbox and us. The Metaverse is divided into different
versions, decentralized versions and centralized versions. On the decentralized side, you will
find Sandbox, Decentraland, and Upland, which provide 3D environments accessible through
computers, mostly just with the computer desktop. I don’t really consider these platforms a
Metaverse.
Instead, I would call them a kind of a virtual reality game, where you have the opportunity to
act or interact with an avatar that is remotely controlled. It’s not actually your own control
but control with a mouse. And you can interact with other tasks, like joining a room, jumping
around, having fun, and dancing. You can also visit environments, but you visit them actually
via a computer, not really acting as an avatar in a Metaverse.
On the other side, we have the centralized Metaverse. Here we talk about Horizon, the one
from Meta, and Spatial, RecRoom, VR Chat, and AltspaceVR. And within this grouping of
centralized Metaverse projects, I would even separate them into hybrids and PureVR.
What is a hybrid? A hybrid is a Metaverse that is accessible through a VR device and also on
a computer. This is annoying to me personally, because that means that people who are
really accessing the Metaverse using a VR device are behaving as part of the Metaverse
because they’re really in there. And on the other side, you have users who are controlling
the avatar instead, controlling it remotely with their mouse. This is where two totally
different characters collide, and it’s annoying for the ones who are using VR, so this is the
divide I want to create.
With PureVR, which is Horizon and us, you can only access the Metaverse through VR. So
you have the highest level of immersive experience and access to the best way of learning
and interacting with avatars with audio-visual interaction.
Do you plan to launch a native token?
We have been thinking about launching a utility token, but I think it is far too early. In our
opinion, cryptocurrency and NFT blockchain technologies are awesome, and they will be a
critical part of our entire infrastructure when it comes to the Metaverse.
But at the moment, we don’t see really a good use case in this area. We will wait and
continue to monitor the market. And I think the day will come when we launch a utility coin
within our Metaverse to fulfill transactions. For instance, I expect that in 2023, wearable
assets on simulated avatars, which are actually acting in POVR Metaverses, will be a huge
market and a marketplace. Therefore, eventually a token will be necessary, but at the
moment, we’re considering it but don’t have concrete plans.
Why are you launching a Dubai subsidiary?
Dubai actively tries to be at the forefront of technology. Their ruling family called out the
Metaverse couple of years ago already, and now they’re really pushing forward.
Last year, we have started to gain some traction in Dubai, but that was too early in my
opinion because they still thought about the future of Metaverse as something more like
Sandbox. But in Sandbox or Decentraland, you cannot really transfer workflows into it. It’s a
platform where you spend time. In May, Dubai announced that they’re looking to transfer
several government services into the Metaverse to provide better service for its citizens
while providing opportunities to be more open to the world. And this is the point where we
came in, as we have been specializing on the onboarding process for the company for the
past month.
At the moment, we see the greatest opportunities or future opportunities in the Metaverse
for onboarding, because onboarding is a process that people don’t really like. Onboarding is
a struggle. You have to read a lot of things. You have to complete tasks and trainings, and
this entire process can be perfectly gamified into a Metaverse experience.
So, what advantage is there for companies using this process? You will lower your costs and
be more efficient. Your people will have more time, and new employees will have more fun
learning about the company while getting closer to it, as it gives them insights into who
they’re working for, making the company feel more relatable, like it has a heart and soul. On
the other side, your team will get their first chance to experience the Metaverse. This is
important because if you compare it to the internet, which came up 1994-96, the first place
where people were exposed to the internet was actually at the office, so this is where it
starts.
And it’s important that companies start with their business solutions in the Metaverse. This
transformation has begun because we are already creating solutions for companies in
Europe and the US. So, it’s important to point out the transformation has begun with the
onboarding process, and this is the ideal pilot to integrate several areas of the company into
the Metaverse.
And therefore, in Dubai, we see great potential. We came here because we are convinced
that we will find good people here. We also believe we will find support of the government.
We are also convinced that we are the only one that can really provide services like
government services. We are also actually working with a big company in Spain as a gateway
to travel, as well. So as more of this comes together, the circle closes.
What are your thoughts on the future of the Metaverse? What key challenges does the
industry face?
This will be an interesting answer. The future of the Metaverse is actually a paradigm shift in
the way we live, think, and communicate. We expect a massive transformation of our entire
civilization in the next 20 years. Mainly, we will have a huge jump into the Metaverse in the
next five years. I think the next five years will be very focused on companies, where
companies start to transfer several workflows into the Metaverse.
Therefore, we are preparing a product that we call VMA. It’s a Visual Metaverse Appearance.
Our goal is to give SMEs easy access to having a presence in the Metaverse and start
working with the technology and open companies to customers, consumers, present
products, and communication.
I think in 2022 and 2023 the Metaverse is more about appearance, communication, and
learning. With the internet, the first websites were simply presenting something. So people
started to go the internet to find content that was presented to them. But after some time,
we engaged in more interactive transactions. And I expect this trend for the Metaverse from
late 2023-25, where we will begin to have transactions . We will come to smart contracts,
and this will be the time where NFTs will also really come into play. I see the future of NFT
and blockchain not in gambling and not in buying virtual real estate but in transactions. This
will be based in moving assets, like a digital contract or whatever it is into your wallet, to
better control your assets and your ownerships.
This transformation will start companies in onboarding, for example, then team building,
then training sessions. The next step will be product presentations and workshops. You can
create workshops for your customers to understand your services better. This is where it all
starts.
Another area we are exploring is the Travel Gateway. This will allow people to get an
immersive experience in how to plan their travel or what they can expect from traveling
somewhere. This can also open up new opportunities, for example, for older people who are
retired to engage again in exciting possibilities. I see a huge opportunity in the retiree
demographic. I feel like society tends to disregard them. Many are homebound, but have
productively served society for the entire lives, and we often push them aside as they age.
I think there is a better way. We can open doors to this new world, giving them the chance
to be part of a community again. They have the chance to connect with people and share
their experiences and knowledge.
Coming to the Travel Gate will give people the chance to travel around the world to see
places, to understand culture. And I think it’s very important for our own experience to
understand how cultures work. And the more I can learn about cultures, the more I will have
an understanding about other humans. And I think this can drive real transformation of and
create more understanding of who we are and what we do.
So, we will combine many things here together, but the Metaverse will be a world where we
create a better world with less violence and no wars. People will be free to enter a world
and be whatever they want to be, and they can openly communicate. Additionally, we have
an enormous opportunity when it comes to education. My dream actually is that we open
universities with no barriers so people can apply for a degree that costs little to no money
and without obtaining prior education. Simply go there if you’re capable. If you’re capable of
learning, you should have the chance earn a degree. And we have a worldwide education
rate of about 7% currently, imagine if we could raise that to 15 or 20–the world will change
entirely.
And I see so many opportunities in Metaverse that there’s no way around. Right now people
are still discussing what it it is and wondering what will happen in the Metaverse. The
Metaverse is here already, and there’s no way around. We . can look to the internet as a
similar case study. There were people in the mid-nineties that said the internet is not going
to survive. Imagine that! As late as 2010 people thought it will not survive. They imagined it
as a temporary thing, something that happened but hit its peak and would eventually
disappear. No, it’s not. Today the internet forms the basis of our entire global infrastructure.
We could not even survive two days without the internet.
So to be clear, the choice to be free is long time gone. You’re not even free to have no
mobile phone. So many applications that are a part of daily life are running on mobiles. If
you think that using a mobile phone is a free choice, you’re wrong.
And at some point, let’s say 10, 15 years down the road, being in the Metaverse will not be a
choice. You will not be able to survive without using it. But there’s a lot of things we have to
do first and a lot of issues we have to solve.
The industry right now is totally underestimating the Metaverse, so that’s why I believe
ignorance can harm the existence of companies. Foresight is very important because there’s
a new world of opportunities available. Given that avatars interact with each other, that
means every industry that is based on personal interaction can be disrupted. Many
industries will be disrupted. So I recommend to all industries, explore the Metaverse and get
a clear picture of what’s happening there. It’s very important to understand that this
technology will change the entire business world.
Those who are ignorant at the moment, they might harm their existence. They might not
even exist anymore in5 5-10 years. So there’s a lot of things to do, but governments and
institutions need to educate others and point out what the Metaverse needs. It makes no
sense to put your head in the sand and hate Mark Zuckerberg for what he’s doing. There’s so
many things happening. There’s so many platforms.
So, my advice to every industry is, take the Metaverse seriously. Ignoring future technologies
could be the end of your existence. On the other hand, you have so many opportunities to
hit these G targets. You can lower your costs. You can offer your people richer experiences.
You can really strengthen the emotional connection between employees and companies.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We need regulation with institutions; we’re looking into that. Currently, there are growing
communities such as Red Room, Spatial, Horizon, VR Chat, and Outspace VR, but the
communities they are growing are supporting criminal activity. They’re building workshops
to engage in illegal activities.
We’re missing so much right now. We allow people to create communities and to radicalize ,
creating extremists. We have to be very careful. Therefore, Nostraverse has decided that we
are not going to be an open platform. We are B2B platform. Any company running an
experience on Nostraverse is allowed to invite as many consumers, as many stakeholders as
they want, but we have to make sure that we don’t allow a bunch of people to walk into
environments and engage in sexual harassment, insulting people, and racist attacks.
There are so many negative experiences right now because the Metaverse itself is like a
second world we’re creating where people think they’re anonymous. They walk in and do
bad things and their avatars can be created randomly. That means you don’t even recognize
the person anymore – just the voice. So there’s a lot of work to do, and we need regulations within institutions.
We have to examine that very closely. But on the other hand, we have so many
opportunities for good, but the worst thing we all can do isignoring what’s coming towards
us. This is a colossal mistake. I see my position as CEO and founder of Nostraverse as one to
explore research and education, as I want to make this world a better place.
I will use the technology to help people, to engage people, to empower people, to take
opportunity to Metaverse. And we will go all together – that’s what we are called.
Nostraverse. It’s our verse. It’s Nostra, it’s a Latin word. It’s us. And it’s all about us at the
end of the day.
