Lighthouse Labs, a Montreal-based start-up company that was launched in January this year has raised $7 million to create the very first Web3 search engine in the metaverse.
Just as how relevant Google is for people browsing the internet, Lighthouse Labs’ metaverse search engine aims to do the same for users of the metaverse.
Users will be able to search through a database of all the active events that’s going on in the metaverse. They will also be able to locate other users on numerous virtual platforms.
Lighthouse Labs believes that its metaverse search engine plans will allow interested users in the space to see multiple spaces like The Sandbox, Roblox and Decentraland in one place.
“Right now, discovery in the metaverse feels more like gaming, where you need to jump from one game to the next to find things, than the internet, where you can access everything from a single entry point,” said Co-founder Jonathan Brun.
Brun added, “The closed ecosystem narrative is something that’s not super aligned with the value of Web3.0.”
Various metaverse platforms have been set up over the last few years but the linear nature of each space, has always been a criticism.
Observers have also warned that the lack of an easy way of jumping from one metaverse space to another risks holding back the development of Web3 in the future. With the Lighthouse search engine, it could help in overcoming such problems by providing users with a way of seeing various platforms all at once.
However, even with a successful launch of the metaverse search engine, due to the decentralised nature of the majority of virtual worlds, users can only see platforms at once by agreeing to partner with the search engine in order to be included in the database. Brun seems confident that although some spaces might decline a collaboration request with his company, others will accept it with open arms.
“So far, in every single conversation that we’ve had, we’ve been warmly received by players who see our platform as a tool that can help their ecosystems,” he said.
Accel, BlockTower and Animoca Brands led the $7 million funding round and received investment from White Star Capital, Sparkle Ventures and Gemini Frontier Fund, among others.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
