Alibaba bets on virtual meetings in the metaverse with DingTalk AR glasses
- DingTalk, whose user numbers exceed 500 million, is trying to introduce real-world workplace activities into the metaverse through its new gadgets
- Alibaba invested more than US$1 billion into AR and VR-related start-ups over the past few years
DingTalk, the workplace app developed by Alibaba Group Holding, plans to launch new augmented reality (AR) glasses so users can conduct virtual meetings, in the tech giant’s latest move to stake out a claim in the metaverse.
The AR glasses will feature self-adjusted optical functions, saving nearsighted users the trouble of wearing additional glasses, Ye Jun, president of DingTalk and a vice-president of Alibaba, was quoted as saying by state-owned media Beijing News on Wednesday.
Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The new headset, which incorporates improvements over DingTalk’s previous AR products and makes the workspace more “immersive”, is the platform’s approach to developing the metaverse, Ye said. The official launch date for the glasses remains unclear.
DingTalk, in collaboration with Beijing-based AR start-up Nreal, launched its first AR glasses in 2020. They featured the DingTalk app, which enabled a “3D virtual meeting room”, allowing users to make conference calls with a headset. The product is priced at 13,999 yuan (US$2,202) on DingTalk’s Taobao store.
Nreal secured a fresh round of financing last September from investors including Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s Yunfeng Capital, as well as Nio Capital, the venture capital arm of Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer NIO.
DingTalk, whose user numbers exceeded 500 million last October, wants to introduce real-world workplace activities into the metaverse through the new gadgets.