A lot has been heard lately about the metaverse. Especially after Facebook decided to change the name of the holding company to Meta Platforms and declare that its future was in the metaverse. Investors have not been very convinced: the Meta share price has fallen about 40% between January 3 and February 23, 2022, with a sharp drop since the beginning of February, when it announced its 2021 results, below market expectations.

The former Facebook insists that the metaverse will be one of the company's main growth drivers. But what is the metaverse? Technology consultancy Gartner defines the metaverse as a collective virtual open space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is physically persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences. It requires multiple technologies and trends to function including augmented reality (AR), flexible work styles, head-mounted display devices (HMDs, such as the Oculus), Internet of Things, 5G and artificial intelligence.

"Metaverse will enable people to replicate or enhance their physical activities. This could happen by transporting or extending physical activities into a virtual world or by transforming the physical world," says Marty Resnick, vice president of analysis at Gartner.

"Although the goal of a metaverse is to combine many of these activities, there are currently many individual metaverses with limited functionality."

Gartner projects that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse, whether for work, entertainment, shopping, learning, social networking and fun. However, it clarifies that the adoption of the metaverse is at an early stage.

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