In my podcast, I explore the many different facets of the world of high tech from development to marketing, to sales, to entrepreneurship, all with the goal of collecting key insights on startups for listeners to gain value from this knowledge-sharing. So, what did I discover this week?

Web3 and the 'Metaverse' have the ability to transform the way we interact with each other, purchase goods, and engage with entertainment. A virtual reality (VR) social scape that gives digital media a whole new playground, whether it be for commercial use or otherwise, is developing at a steady pace. Companies like Sandbox, MyLand, and, of course, Meta are at the forefront of creating these new digital universes offering such assets like virtual land sales, digital clothes, and more unique creations.

Sitting down with Bonnka Lim, CMO of Tetavi, a volumetric video capture company (we will get to what that means in a second), I quickly come to understand just how much potential this new technological realm possesses. Even with skeptics citing reasonable concerns, people are attracted by a VR media revolution that can push the bounds of our current reality - even changing the entire way we consume content

What is Volumetric Video Capture Technology?

Tetavi is pioneering the next generation of video creation in the metaverse, powered by deep-learning technologies that are able to capture a person and create a digital replica. “What the company is doing is bringing real people into the digital world,” as Bonnka goes on to explain the process. There is almost a futuristic aspect to the technology, oddly reminiscent of some Star Wars hologram. Even more interesting is that this type of Sci-Fi media is not a thing of the movies, but a thing of today.

Bonnka explains that the technology is foundational for creating content in the metaverse. He shows that “essentially, you come to the studio, and we capture you and create a version of you in 3D and can put you in any type of environment: AR, CG, anywhere.” They want to enable people to create content with endless possibilities and break the bounds of creations often associated with location and, to a certain degree, reality.

Democratizing Immersive Content Creation

The thing is that this technology already exists, and you may have seen it in such digital content as video games such as FIFA and even when using green screen technology. “The volumetric capture technology is not new, but what is new is the use case of it,” adds Bonnka. Tetavi’s vision leverages what Bonnka terms, “the natural evolution of Web 3”, with an ability to give access to this previously considered expensive or resource-intensive process. The goal is to give the everyday creator the ability to make this kind of digital media in the metaverse through a phone app and create both a more immersive and interactive video experience.

Imagine yourself as a basketball trainer and want to film yourself defending Lebron James. Or you are a podcast host and want to host your podcast episode one day in Ibiza at a club? What might have otherwise been limited by money, time, and resources could be much more in reach with volumetric video capture technology. And think, creativity then becomes the real measure of content success and not necessarily the budget behind it.

The technology still has a way to go until the day that a person can just use a phone app to create their digital twin. Still, the company has already had some successful use cases and sees a major opportunity in music. After several music videos they made for several indie artists, they already began to see the draw of their technology. “The artists that worked with us, they saw amazing success from the videos we made,” Bonnka reiterates and even more amazing is that without Tetavi they would never have been able to make such videos.

Say What You Will

Web3 these days is a controversial topic. Many people do not see the merit of developing technologies such as the metaverse or are even fearful of it. Nevertheless, to ignore it would be a mistake - and that is the truth. While I do not necessarily endorse getting into the metaverse and Web3, understanding and being aware of what is going on in it is key if you want to spot opportunities.

Tetavi’s technology may very well be leading a new development in content. And new things can be scary. Whether the metaverse succeeds remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the future seems closer to reality now than ever before.