The Turning Point of the Metaverse Industry in 2026: New Growth Driven by Enterprise Solutions
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The Rise of Enterprise Metaverse: Practicality Creating a New Market
As of early 2026, the metaverse industry is at a clear turning point. With the investment frenzy focused on consumer-centric virtual reality games and social platforms from 2021-2022 calming down, enterprise (B2B) metaverse solutions that create real business value are emerging as a new growth driver. According to market research firm Gartner, the global enterprise metaverse market size is expected to grow by 47% year-over-year to $34.2 billion in 2026, accounting for about 68% of the entire metaverse market.
The backdrop to this change is that companies are beginning to clearly recognize the practical value of metaverse technology. Particularly, as remote work culture becomes established, the demand for virtual collaboration spaces has surged, and manufacturers are significantly enhancing productivity through digital twins and virtual simulations. According to a recent report by McKinsey, manufacturers that have adopted metaverse technology have achieved an average of 23% improvement in operational efficiency and reduced product development time by 35%.
Meta Platforms, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is responding swiftly to these market changes. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in the Q4 2025 earnings report that “revenue from enterprise VR solutions through Horizon Workrooms and the Quest Pro series increased by 156% year-over-year.” He emphasized that demand for virtual training and remote collaboration solutions in the automotive, aerospace, and healthcare sectors is surging. Meta’s enterprise metaverse division recorded $3.2 billion in revenue in Q4 2025, accounting for 67% of the total Reality Labs revenue.
Digital Twins and Industrial Metaverse: Key Technologies Driving Manufacturing Innovation
In the manufacturing sector, metaverse technology combined with digital twins has become the most noteworthy application. Industrial metaverse solutions centered around Siemens AG in Germany and General Electric in the US are being utilized for various purposes, such as optimizing production processes, predictive maintenance, and employee training, by creating virtual environments identical to actual factories. According to industry research firm ABI Research, the manufacturing digital twin market is expected to grow by 42% year-over-year to $18.7 billion in 2026.
Samsung Electronics, a leading Korean manufacturer, announced the full-scale introduction of a metaverse-based digital twin system at its semiconductor plants in Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong. A representative from Samsung Electronics’ DS division explained, “New employees can receive complete process training in a virtual factory environment without operating actual equipment, reducing training time by 60% and initial defect rates by 45%.” The complexity of semiconductor manufacturing processes and the high cost of equipment make the effects of virtual training even more pronounced.
The automotive industry is also accelerating the adoption of metaverse technology. Volkswagen AG in Germany announced that it has mandated metaverse-based virtual prototyping in all new car development processes starting in 2025. This has resulted in a reduction of physical prototype production costs by about 40% and an average development time reduction of 8 months. Hyundai Motor Group also introduced virtual reality-based assembly line simulations at its Ulsan and Asan plants, achieving a 67% reduction in worker safety incidents.
NVIDIA Corporation’s Omniverse platform is serving as the core infrastructure for these industrial metaverse innovations. CEO Jensen Huang announced in a recent CES 2026 keynote that “the number of companies utilizing the Omniverse platform exceeded 5,000 worldwide by the end of 2025, with a cumulative cost-saving effect of $24 billion.” He emphasized that global manufacturers like BMW, Ericsson, and Lockheed Martin are building complete digital factories through Omniverse.
In the field of remote collaboration, the practicality of metaverse technology is also being proven. Microsoft’s Mesh platform and Teams integration solution recorded 85 million monthly active users as of Q4 2025. The demand for 3D collaboration is surging in architecture, engineering, and medical fields, showcasing the value of spatial collaboration that traditional video conferencing cannot achieve. CEO Satya Nadella announced that “companies using metaverse collaboration tools have reduced project completion times by an average of 28% and improved decision-making speed by 40%.”
The adoption of metaverse in the healthcare sector is also showing notable results. Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US reported significant improvements in medical staff training effectiveness through metaverse-based surgical simulations. The simulations for complex brain and heart surgeries improved medical staff proficiency by 30% and reduced complication rates during actual surgeries by 22%. Based on these results, the US FDA announced new guidelines for medical VR simulations in December 2025, which are expected to further accelerate the spread of metaverse medical solutions.
In the education sector, the use of metaverse is expanding. Stanford University included virtual reality-based anatomy classes in its regular curriculum starting in 2025, reporting a 45% improvement in student comprehension compared to traditional teaching methods. In Korea, Seoul National University and Yonsei University are operating remote practice and virtual laboratories through the Metaverse Campus Project, significantly contributing to the qualitative improvement of remote education, especially after COVID-19.
The retail industry is also accelerating the adoption of metaverse technology. Nike Inc. announced that it recorded $1.5 billion in sales in Q4 2025 through its virtual store ‘Nikeland.’ By building a system where customers can experience products in virtual spaces and order custom designs, customer satisfaction improved by 35%. The preference for virtual shopping is particularly high among Gen Z customers, which is expected to be a key driver of digital transformation in the retail industry.
In the Asian market, Korea and China are standing out in the development of enterprise metaverse solutions. NAVER Corporation launched ‘ZEPETO Workspace,’ an expansion of the ZEPETO platform for enterprises, announcing that 1,200 companies were using it as a virtual office as of Q4 2025. It is gaining popularity as a cost-effective collaboration tool among startups and SMEs, with monthly average usage time increasing by 78% year-over-year.
Tencent Holdings in China is also taking aggressive steps in the enterprise metaverse market. It announced plans to expand its digital twin services, provided to over 500 manufacturers in China through metaverse solutions linked with Tencent Cloud, to 2,000 companies by 2026. This rapid growth aligns with China’s ’14th Five-Year Plan’ policy to foster the digital economy.
From a technological perspective, advancements in 5G and edge computing are significantly enhancing the practicality of enterprise metaverse. With latency reduced to below 10ms, real-time collaboration and remote operation have become possible, and advancements in cloud rendering technology have enabled high-spec VR/AR experiences on general devices. Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset offers 2.5 times improved performance compared to the previous generation and a 40% improvement in battery efficiency, enabling long-term use for work.
Investment Trends and Future Outlook: Sustainable Growth Centered on Practicality
Venture capital and corporate investment patterns are clearly shifting from consumer to enterprise metaverse. According to investment research firm PitchBook, 73% of metaverse-related investments in 2025 were focused on B2B solutions, with a total investment of $8.9 billion. This represents a 34% increase from 2024, indicating that investors are focusing on enterprise solutions with tangible revenue models. Notably, the average valuation of Series A enterprise metaverse startups rose by 50% from $28 million in 2024 to $42 million in 2025.
A notable investment case is Germany’s Varjo, which raised $120 million in a Series D round in November 2025. Varjo manufactures ultra-high-resolution VR headsets, providing professional solutions mainly in the aerospace, automotive, and architecture sectors. A partner at EQT Ventures, which led the investment, explained that “companies using Varjo’s products are seeing an average annual cost-saving effect of $3 million.”
In Korea, LG Electronics announced the establishment of an enterprise metaverse business unit in December 2025, planning to invest 500 billion won over the next three years. The focus is on developing solutions specialized for manufacturing and logistics, with a goal of achieving 1 trillion won in related revenue by 2028. CEO Jo Seong-jin of LG Electronics expressed his ambition, stating, “Metaverse technology will become the core infrastructure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and lead the digital transformation of Korean manufacturing.”
The regulatory environment is also becoming more favorable for the spread of enterprise metaverse. The European Union (EU) announced the ‘Metaverse Data Protection Guidelines’ in October 2025, clarifying data processing standards for enterprise metaverse platforms. This provides a legal basis for companies to adopt metaverse technology without compliance concerns. The US is also expected to announce the ‘National Metaverse Security Standards’ led by the Department of Defense in January 2026, which is anticipated to accelerate the adoption of metaverse by government agencies and defense-related companies.
From a market outlook perspective, the enterprise metaverse market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 35% over the next five years. According to the latest report by Boston Consulting Group, the global enterprise metaverse market size is projected to reach $145 billion by 2030, accounting for about 78% of the entire metaverse market. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the largest growth driver, occupying 42% of the total market.
In terms of technological advancement, the convergence of AI and metaverse is accelerating. Automatic 3D content creation using generative AI, natural interaction with AI-based virtual avatars, and personalized virtual environment configuration through machine learning are becoming a reality. This technological convergence is significantly lowering the cost of metaverse content creation while enhancing the quality of user experience, acting as a key factor driving the popularization of enterprise metaverse.
However, challenges remain to be addressed. High initial adoption costs, compatibility issues with existing systems, and the time required for employees to adapt to new technologies are barriers to the spread of enterprise metaverse. Particularly for SMEs, difficulties in measuring ROI and a lack of specialized personnel often lead to hesitation in adoption. To address these issues, major metaverse platform companies are focusing on subscription-based service models and turnkey solutions.
The metaverse industry in 2026 can be evaluated as having found a clear direction. The transition from flashy consumer games and social platforms to enterprise solutions that create real business value has been successfully achieved. This change was a necessary process for the sustainable development and commercialization of metaverse technology, laying the foundation for it to become a core infrastructure of the digital economy over the next decade. The rapid adoption and innovation in the Asian market, including Korea, are expected to play a crucial role in the development of the global metaverse ecosystem.
*The information and analysis presented in this article cover general market trends and are not intended as advice for specific investment decisions. Please consult a professional advisor when making investment decisions.*
