Shriram Group to have metaverse presence in first quarter of 2023

It would be the first NBFC in India to give customers such a service

The Shriram Group will have a metaverse branch by the first quarter of 2023, becoming the first Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) to be in a shared virtual world environment that people can access via the internet.

Novac Technology Solutions, Shriram’s digital arm that works on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), will put the group on metaverse that will have solutions for customers and employees.

“We are trying to create a private metarverse solution for our group. By the first quarter of next year, Shriram Group will also have a presence in the metaverse concept,” said Pradeep B, associate vice president of Novac.

The group announced earlier in December the final merger between Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC), India's largest financier of commercial vehicles, and Shriram City Union Finance, the largest two-wheeler financer, to form Shriram Finance.

“We are hoping to become the first NBFC to do so in India (to be in metaverse). During the first phase, customers will be able to experience the products and solutions of the brand. We are also trying to rope in a bot-based system during this phase, in which the customer will get a call back based on his virtual interest,” Pradeep said.

In the second phase, the company plans to have a real-time support system, including avatar representations of brands or products. “Depending on regulatory approvals, we will try to see what transactions can happen online through metaverse,” he said.

In July, state-owned Union Bank of India launched its Metaverse Virtual Lounge Uni-verse to provide information on deposits, loans, government welfare schemes and digital initiatives. Union said it is the first Indian bank to open a virtual shop.

Novac said that it has more than 60 customers and out of that around 20 use VR, AR, MR and metaverse solutions. It has a tie-up with Bodyswaps, a European VR and AI soft skills trainer, to offer teaching modules for the staff of its clients. Novac’s clients for the training technology include Hyundai and Leica Microsystems. “Our services are of two types: one for customer experience and another for employee experience. Employee solutions will help them to have a virtual work space for training,” said Shanavaz S F, head, metaverse/virtual reality/augmented reality/mixed reality of Novac.

“During the past few years, the segment was growing at a rate of 25 per cent globally. Based on current projections, it will be growing at a rate of around 30-35 years in the next few years, due to the expansion of 5G networks,” Shanavaz said.