Ithra Enters The Metaverse With Immersive Digital Technologies Program

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) bridges the physical and virtual worlds to launch the third edition of its Creative Solutions initiative. Focused on creating immersive digital content, the Cycle 2 cohort will showcase 10 prototypes to potential investors at Ithra’s landmark building and on a virtual platform.

The initiative focuses on building an ecosystem of innovators working on immersive technologies including virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, haptics and immersive audio. The Creative Solutions program is designed to boost Saudi’s creative economy by empowering digital content creation, and the latest crop of projects span the education, healthcare, tourism, art, technology and gaming industries. They were selected from hundreds of proposals by an international panel of judges led by Bafta- and Emmy-winning immersive storyteller Kim-Leigh Pontin, whose credits include Marvel’s Eternals AR adventure, and Anne McKinnon, Cofounder and CEO of metaverse platform Ristband, the digital space where the demo day will be hosted.

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Participants received a grant and mentorship through an 18-week development phase, which included a technical track in collaboration with HOST Unity Centre of Excellence and an entrepreneurship track in collaboration with The Bakery.

“Immersive technologies have transformed how we work, play and communicate,” said Miznah Alzamil, Head of Creativity and Innovation at Ithra. “We are proud of our program participants’ contributions and excited to unveil their innovative products.

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“The top proposals that made it to prototype stage demonstrate the spirit of innovative thinking driving the creative economy forward and propelling us further into a future guided by the Kingdom’s talent. This truly is a global showcase of Saudi innovation.”

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