Startup Spatial looks to become YouTube in metaverse

Metaverse platform startup Spatial aims to grow into a company that allows users to enjoy interactive content together, as COVID-19 has increased the desire to share experiences in various fields such as digital arts in the virtual world, its co-founder said on Wednesday.

Spatial provides 3D metaverse space on the Internet, which users can operate by accessing a special website on web browsers without downloading. The service has attracted 4 million users so far with high-quality graphics, convenience and easy tools for content creation. The company introduced its first service for virtual reality devices in 2019 and unveiled a version for the web in 2021.

“We will develop the company into one similar to YouTube, which allows people across the world to share videos. Our users will be able to share interactive content at Spatial,” Lee Jinha, its co-founder and president, told The Korea Economic Daily in an interview.

“Technology has already evolved enough to naturally lead real everyday life to the metaverse. User interaction is not awkward in the virtual space at all.”

Spatial offers more freedom to users than other metaverse platforms as it allows users to exhibit artwork, play games and hold parties with music.

That compares with most other metaverse service providers, which focus on one specific sector such as games or business.

“We are confident that users’ expressiveness and creativity will grow when they are immersed on their computers, just as the intense immersion creates statues in the real world,” Lee said.

DEVELOPERS WITH VARIOUS EXPERIENCES

Spatial’s developers have a variety of backgrounds, raising the service’s quality.

Lee developed award-winning 3D user interfaces at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. He was named one of the top 35 innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review and one of the 32 greatest living designers by Fast Company, a US magazine that focuses on tech, business and design.

Spatial’s other founder and CEO Anand Agarawala established BumpTop, a pioneering 3D, multi-touch, physics desktop interface, and sold it to Google LLC in 2010.

“Half of Spatial’s employees are from companies in Silicon Valley including Apple and Google and the rest are from game developers,” Lee said. “The organizational composition creates a unique synergy.”

Spatial is currently strengthening its game functions. It recently improved its tools, which allow users to easily develop games, in cooperation with Unity Technologies, a game engine company.

“We are helping users access various content through games,” Lee said.

Write to Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.