[Report] "Reducing Industrial Accidents with Metaverse" Company Receiving Nasdaq Investment Inquiries

'Metaview' Participated in CES 2023

2023 CES Metaview Exhibition Hall 모습

[Las Vegas=Reporter Choi Seoyun] “I want to invest, but is it possible to list on Nasdaq?”

On the 6th (local time), CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States. Dr. Arun Das, who runs a startup in California, USA, was captivated by a Korean startup among the many metaverse companies on site.

It was not a virtual reality game, but an ‘industrial metaverse’ company that helps reduce accidents and defect rates in industrial sites. The protagonist is MetaVu, a startup with an annual sales of 5.7 billion KRW. It is a solid metaverse company from Gyeongnam, celebrating its 15th year since establishment this year.

Although metaverse has hit CES hard, even experiencing it through smart devices is still a vague concept. Although some have made a fortune investing in virtual real estate, it remains intangible. MetaVu is different. By using this company’s platform, factories can be controlled while reducing defect rates and safety accidents. A unique point of the solutions presented by the company is that not only are real-world actions performed in virtual space, but digital actions in the virtual space are also applied in reality.

MetaVu set up a booth in the central hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the CES venue, allowing visitors to see the entire city of Changwon in three dimensions (3D) at a glance, attracting much attention. Clicking to enter the Changwon City Hall building, the interior such as stairs and doors were meticulously reproduced.

Founder No Jin-song of MetaVu explained, “MetaVu-GIS uses equipment such as 360-degree scanning devices, X-rays, and SONAR to cross-verify underground pipelines and tracks during the process of creating digital twins in virtual space,” adding, “It can be seen as a fusion of humans and machines working together.”

The fusion of humans and machines reduces not only defect rates but also industrial accidents. This is the secret behind MetaVu winning the hearts of over 200 organizations including Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation (LX), the Republic of Korea Army, Tongyeong City, Gyeongsangnam-do, Changwon City, and Catholic hospitals.

By utilizing the all-in-one lineup unveiled this time, various solutions can be integrated and selectively introduced through cloud subscription methods, including ▲AR content creation needed on site (MetaVu-Maker), ▲work guides (MetaVu-Guides) that help even beginners perform all processes from production to work without prior training, ▲remote collaboration support (MetaVu-Remote) that quickly solves engineering problems on site with help from remote experts or seniors, and ▲an educational system (MetaVu-EDU) that enables immersive training anytime and anywhere based on various multi-devices (PC, HMD, smart glasses) without actual equipment or facilities.

2023 CES Metaview Exhibition Hall 모습

Many companies were captivated by this. Founder No said manufacturing companies struggled because they could not operate factories concentrated in China, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As production bases were decentralized to India, Korea, the United States, and others, factory management became difficult, but they solved the problem through MetaVu’s metaverse remote control. Founder No said companies that found factory management difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic used the ‘MetaVu-Remote’ service. Even if they could not visit production bases, managers could manage facilities.

Through remote control devices, it became possible to manage facilities and check whether production was proceeding properly, as well as supervise and oversee. He said, “Sensors are attached to the equipment in the actual factory, and control devices are all installed, so data can be collected in real time,” adding, “Managers can monitor the site situation no matter how far away they are and easily operate machines by sending control signals (from Korea).”

The solution to prevent industrial site safety accidents was demonstrated by creating a 3D model of the factory like Changwon City, allowing detailed internal views, although equipment was only partially disclosed for security reasons. If an abnormality occurs in factory equipment, it is indicated with a conspicuous red mark visible to anyone. It is a system that accurately informs the location of the malfunction to prevent accidents in advance.

Founder No emphasized, “Through HoloLens, it was made possible to have an overall view like the Changwon City we saw earlier, and factories can be managed like a ‘war room’ (exhibition command center) as if commanding a military operation,” adding, “The scope is limitless enough to be applied in any field.” Dr. Das, who accompanied on site, showed interest in MetaVu and even hinted at investment intentions. Although jokingly saying “I don’t have money right now,” he inquired about the intention to list on Nasdaq.

Dr. Das continuously asked detailed questions about the company’s management status, such as “Are there plans to diversify the platform into fields other than industry?” “How many employees are there?” “Where are the headquarters and branches located in Korea?” “How much funding has been raised?” “Is there any plan to sell later?” “Is there a plan to list on Nasdaq instead of the Korean stock market?”

Founder No explained to Dr. Das, “There are about 90 employees, with headquarters in Changwon, Gyeongnam, and branches in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do.” He added, “We have not received investment yet, but we are preparing for listing on the Korean stock market, and if there is a good partner, we are considering mergers and acquisitions (M&A).”

MetaVu expects this year’s sales to exceed 12 billion KRW, about twice that of the previous year. For startups, future growth potential and corporate value are more important than current financial indicators. The corporate value presented by Founder No is about 110 billion KRW.

During CES 2023, MetaVu operates eight booths in the Gaming, Metaverse, and XR zone within the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Visitors can directly experience metaverse platform solutions utilizing various ICT technologies including XR (Extended Reality: AR, VR, MR), digital twins, IoT, and 5G.

Major global companies such as LG, Hyundai Motor Company, Saudi Aramco, NASA, IBM, Deloitte, Bosch, Vermeer, as well as domestic mid-sized and small companies like Ajin Industry and Deokil Industry, and university officials from Harvard visited one after another. MetaVu discussed business and research cooperation with them and attracted attention from foreign media such as Reuters.