December 19, 2022

Korean and Chinese Companies are Increasing their Presence in Developing Metaverse (virtual space) Terminals

Regarding the number of related patents, Korean firms such as LG Electronics ranked first and second, with Chinese firms in fourth place. The terminal will likely become the next leading electronic device after smartphones, and the global market will grow to the 10 trillion yen scale by 2026. Japanese teams are late to the party. Meanwhile, Chinese and Korean firms are preparing to take the lead in the vast market.

Metaverse is a virtual space on the Internet where people can control their own alter egos (avatars) to interact with others and participate in events. To enhance the sense of presence, eyeglass-type terminals for viewing 3D images are essential.

Nikkei and a research firm Cyber Soken surveyed VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) related patents filed in Japan, the US, Europe, and other countries since 2016. They selected patents from approximately 20 items depending on their importance.

The US accounted for 57% of the total 7,760 patents of the top 20 companies by company nationality. South Korea and China follow with 19% and 12%, respectively. Japan was at 8%.

By company, South Korea's LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics were in first and second place. LG has risen sharply from 11th place in 2010-2015. Korean companies are strong in display color schemes and semiconductors. It is rapidly increasing its presence in core devices rather than finished products such as terminals. Chinese companies also placed fourth with Huawei, which didn't rank in the top 20 from 2010 to 2015. There are many patents on image reproduction methods and image processing.

Six US companies, including Meta and Microsoft, were in the top 10. The only Japanese group was the Sony Group (6th), which has accumulated virtual space technology through games.