Facebook has announced it will invest $50 million to research and develop metaverse technology.

The company’s XR Programs and Research Fund will be a two-year investment and aims to study how the metaverse can be created responsibly. This includes making sure that the tech offers maximum economic opportunities, provides consumer choice, encourages competition, and maintains a digital economy.

It will also ensure that privacy is built into the metaverse, protecting user data while maintaining transparency and control, along with ensuring users remain safe online.

Furthermore, Facebook will study how to make the metaverse inclusive and accessible.

The metaverse is touted as the evolution of the internet – a consistent virtual 3D living and working space where people can interact in real time. The metaverse will need technology such as AR and VR headsets, and software that can render environments that multiple users can interact with.

The new investment will see Facebook collaborate with policymakers, experts, and industry partners.

“The metaverse isn’t a single product one company can build alone. Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not,” the company said.

“And it won’t be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realised in the next 10-15 years.”

The company also announced some of the groups it will work with. These include the Organization of American States, Women in Immersive Tech, Africa No Filter, Electric South and Imisi3D.

Facebook will also work with research institutions, including Seoul National University, the University of Hong Kong, and Howard University on how to develop the metaverse.

“Through this fund, we’ll collaborate with industry partners, civil rights groups, governments, non-profits and academic institutions to determine how to build these technologies responsibly,” Facebook said.

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The metaverse has been widely discussed this year as the future of work. Since the pandemic, remote working has become normalised, with people relying on video conferencing technology such as Zoom and Teams.

The metaverse is the next logical step – a virtual office environment where digital avatars can interact, theoretically getting the best of both worlds of office and home working.

In part, the conversation has been driven by Facebook’s interest in the technology. The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has said he aims to reinvent Facebook as a metaverse company.

Facebook is well placed to develop the technology – it bought VR headset maker Oculus in 2014, and its vast social media empire gives it insight into user behaviour in online spaces.

The company currently offers a beta service on Oculus called Horizon, which allows users to hold VR meetings.

With Facebook touting the metaverse as the next big computing revolution, it is trying to portray itself as a safe and responsible architect for the technology. However, the company has been hit by numerous controversies in recent months.

The company has found itself at the centre of an argument over how it treats high-profile users on its social media platform. Claims have been circulating of a deal between Zuckerberg and ex-US President Donald Trump, which meant Facebook would not censor Trump’s posts, who in turn would not impose regulations on the company.

On top of this, accusations have been levelled at the company claiming it knew of harm being done to users of its Instagram platform, and that its algorithms created sexiest job adverts.