The global metaverse market is set to reach A$110 billion by 2026, and a number of tech giants are quietly filing and securing thousands of technology patents related to the nascent sector.
These 2026 projections represent a fivefold increase in the sector within five years, according to IDC.
LG Electronics has submitted the most metaverse patent applications since 2016, according to data collected and tabulated by Nikkei Asia and survey company Cyber Creative Institute.
Considering the South Korean company was only eleventh in the world when it came to patent applications in the metaverse space from 2010-2015, it seems LG is making up for its late start.
Samsung Electronics filed the second most patents, theirs relating to display color schemes and semiconductors, focusing on core components rather than to-market products, like VR headsets.
Meta sits at third place, surprising given the billions Zuckerberg has sunken into chasing technological successes in the sector of late.
Huawei is another company looking to make up for a slow start, placing fourth for patents filed since 2016, while not reaching the top twenty for the previous period.
Microsoft were in fifth, followed by Sony in sixth.
The top 20 companies submitted a combined 7,760 patents, according to Nikkei, with the U.S.
On a nation split, American companies accounting for 57 per cent of these, followed by South Korea at 19 per cent, China at 12 per cent, and Japan at 11 per cent.