KT ended its metaverse product service for business-to-business transactions (B2B) about a year and ..

KT ended its metaverse product service for business-to-business transactions (B2B) about a year and a half after its launch. It is interpreted that it was difficult to secure customer companies. Metaverse services operated by other telecommunication companies also seem to be shrinking overall, with user growth slowing down.
According to the telecommunications industry on the 8th, KT has been confirmed to have terminated its metaverse service, “Meta Lounge,” at the end of last month.
Meta Lounge is a B2B metaverse product released by KT in December 2022. It is a service that produces and provides customized metaverse platforms for companies, local governments, and institutions.
KT worked hard to create references by signing a business agreement with the Global Youth Climate and Environment Challenge (GYCC) of the Carbon Neutral Green Growth Commission at the Meta Lounge prior to its launch at the time, but eventually ended the service without achieving tangible results in securing customers.
However, KT plans to continue operating the metaverse “Giniverse” for business-to-consumer transactions (B2C). Genibus has not yet been activated with less than 10,000 downloads based on Android. A KT official said, “For B2C, we will focus on differentiated services that converge Generative AI around Genieverse, an AI metaverse platform.”
As the fever of the metaverse cooled due to the AI craze, major services have been closed one by one since last year, and the carrier’s metaverse service also seems to have failed to avoid this trend. Last year alone, Cyworld’s “Pytown,” Com2uS’ “Com2Bus,” and Kakao’s great-grandchild company “ColorBus” closed their metaverse businesses.
The metaverse service of SK Telecom and LG Uplus is not in a rosy situation either. In the case of LG Uplus, it operates a university-only metaverse platform called “Uverse” and “Kidstopia” for children, including “Methaslap,” a B2B product similar to KT’s meta lounge.
In the case of Metaslap, beta tests were conducted on various companies such as large companies and startups for a month after its debut in June last year, but it has not been officially released until now, nearly a year later.
LG U+ is preparing to launch its platform by upgrading its platform based on insights obtained through beta testing, but the exact timing is not determined.
Ubus has also established metaverse campuses of about 10 universities, including the opening of a virtual campus dedicated to Yonsei University in July last year, but there have been no new customer cases since Yonsei University until this year. An official from LG Uplus explained, “Ubus is conducting additional projects with existing contracted universities and discussing and winning business orders with a number of new universities.”
SK Telecom is operating the B2C metaverse platform ‘Efriend’ worldwide. Although it has been cruising among carrier metaverse platforms, recording monthly active users (MAUs) of 3 million to 4 million last year, MAUs decreased by about 600,000 in the fourth quarter.
E-Friend MAU recorded 3.9 million in the first quarter of last year and 4.2 million in the second and third quarters, but it grew reversely for the first time in the fourth quarter, falling to 3.61 million.
The telecommunication company plans to create a platform growth momentum by adding Generative AI functions to the existing metaverse service. SK Telecom said it will introduce functions such as AI persona by combining Generative AI with E-Friend, and KT will also introduce differentiated services using Generative AI. Entry into the global market is also a keyword. SK Telecom is actively targeting the Southeast Asian market, and LG U+ is expanding its business to the North American market through Kids Topia.
[Reporter JUNG HO JUN]