The first Italian acceleration program dedicated to startups in the metaverse applied to finance is born
The Metaverse 4 Finance Accelerator, the first Italian acceleration program – promoted by Sella Group and implemented by its Venture Incubator dpixel with the support of OGR Torino – which aims to identify and support the growth of national and international startups for the development of innovative, economically sustainable, inclusive and secure solutions and technologies in the metaverse applied to finance, is launched.
The metaverse is a multifaceted, evolving digital environment intended to make people’s experience of the Web immersive. According to data from Grand View Research, the metaverse is expected to reach a global market value of $678.8 billion in 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.4 percent. Founded on a combination of high-tech factors such as infrastructure, interfaces, hybrid/virtual experiences and creator economy, the metaverse can enable new and unexplored market opportunities for the world of finance as well.
The challenge
The accelerator program was created with the ultimate goal of bringing benefits to people on their journey of approaching and adopting the metaverse by proposing solutions that can anticipate and drive developments in the metaverse itself.
Startups already represent a pillar in the construction of the new digital environment, and even smaller entrepreneurial projects can play a significant role in the growth of metaverse finance: in fact, startups are at the center of this path and contribute to increasing the speed of innovation of large companies. Sella Group is supporting the initiative to promote and enable finance in the growing metaverse field.
Recipients
Metaverse 4 Finance Accelerator is aimed at domestic and international startups that are able to realize disruptive innovations in the market through technologies applied to finance for the metaverse. Requirements for startups include a defined core team, a clear value proposition, a prototype ready for market launch within 6-10 months, and a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) maturity level greater than or equal to 6.
The phases and the prize
The initiative, divided into 4 phases, will take place over a 6-month period: an initial scouting & selection phase during which the best startups will be selected, followed by a second business acceleration phase to support the business plan and identify the 10 best selected startups. There will then be the technical validation phase of products and solutions for the 5 finalist startups (which will receive an investment of 100 thousand euros each) before moving on to “matchmaking,” which involves the possibility of integrating the innovations developed within the processes of companies operating in the sector.
“Among the many interconnected phenomena reshaping the social and economic dynamics of the present, the Metaverse represents a particularly challenging frontier full of opportunities. Indeed, in addition to the unexplored potential of a veritable “new reality” in which to move and relate, there is the dimension of a megatrend now in full evolution that will have far-reaching repercussions on all areas of our living, from sociality to gaming, from marketing to finance. For this reason, the commitment of institutions, entities and companies capable of charting a direction in the sign of inclusiveness, security and sustainability, through the support and sharing of know-how and experience, is indispensable. This is the goal with which OGR Torino wants to be at the side of dpixel, Venture Incubator of the Sella Group, for the launch of Metaverse 4 Finance Accelerator, with the awareness of being able to contribute to the development of a strategic and disruptive vision for the future universe of the Internet and, therefore, of society,” says Massimo Lapucci, CEO of OGR Torino.
“In this unique period that combines evolution, discontinuity and transition to Web3, it is even more fundamental to continue to promote an open and innovative ecosystem to boost ideas and solutions that are useful to citizens and businesses wherever they act, in the physical world as well as in the metaverse,” says Stefano Azzalin ceo of dpixel – With this Metaverse 4 Finance initiative, the Group takes a further step to increase the country’s capacity to innovate and thus guide its growth and development, involving exclusive partners and calling on national and international startups, which represent a vital resource to invest in for economic and social progress.“
