The digital landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with social media and mobile internet playing a pivotal role in the expansion of the virtual ecosystem. As of now, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, boasts over 2.4 billion users, while platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube contribute to an even broader digital audience. This interconnectedness has blurred the lines between our digital and physical lives, with many everyday activitiessuch as socializing, entertainment, and shoppingtransitioning into early metaverse-like environments.

The emergence of virtual learning platforms, collaborative workplace tools, and blockchain-based gaming economies has been a direct consequence of this digital shift. Research conducted by NewGenApps suggests that the realm of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) gaming is poised to welcome 216 million players by 2025, with the market expected to reach a staggering $11.6 billion. This growth is particularly evident in a 2024 survey that highlighted that 34% of game developers worldwide are currently focused on creating titles for the Meta Quest Storean indication of robust interest in immersive gaming experiences.

Moreover, the global video streaming market, crucial for facilitating immersive media experiences, reached an impressive value of $674.25 billion in 2024. According to findings from the Business Research Company, the global metaverse market is projected to surge from $227.05 billion in 2024 to approximately $316.34 billion in 2025, representing a substantial compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.3%. S&P Global Market Intelligence, however, offers a slightly different forecast, estimating that revenue from the global metaverse could climb from $17.5 billion in 2023 to $54.5 billion by 2028, maintaining a steady 25.5% CAGR. As this market expands, businesses have emerged as the principal customer segment, primarily due to their increasing demand for digital twin software and remote collaboration tools. Recent data from S&P indicates that in 2023, these enterprises solidified their market position, accounting for 42.8% of the overall metaverse landscape.

The growth trajectory of the metaverse hinges on the seamless integration of content streaming and blockchain technology, the latter of which enhances secure transactions, digital asset ownership, and governance. This combination fosters user-driven economies where individuals can create, sell, and profit from their digital experiences, akin to platforms like Roblox. Concurrently, the rise of 3D environments, virtual marketplaces, and interactive gaming worlds continues to attract significant investment.

Positioned within the broader video games industry, the metaverse represents a rapidly evolving digital frontier, where immersive technologies forge interactive virtual spaces. Its foundation rests on VR, AR, blockchain, and mixed reality, culminating in simulations that facilitate social interaction, professional collaboration, education, and gaming. This evolving landscape is characterized by the merging of digital and physical realities, offering tailored and immersive experiences through avatars, real-time communication, and spatial computing capabilities. Users are now able to navigate dynamic 3D environments, a significant improvement from merely browsing static web pages, marking a fundamental shift towards fully immersive virtual spaces. The metaverse is categorized into four distinct types: lifelogging, augmented reality, mirror worlds, and virtual reality.

In light of these trends, we recently published a comprehensive analysis of the 12 Best Metaverse Stocks to Invest In. In this article, we will focus specifically on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and evaluate its standing against other top contenders in the metaverse investment arena.

Additionally, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform the next phase of the metaverse. This includes advancements in custom content suggestions, automated dubbing, enhanced editing capabilities, and superior visual outputs. Streaming services are increasingly leveraging sophisticated language models, such as GPT-4, to generate real-time content while ensuring moderation, thus enhancing user safety and accessibility in digital interactions. Although the metaverse itself is still evolving, the technologies underpinning virtual economiesranging from play-to-earn games and NFT marketplaces to digital event ticketsare already generating income opportunities for both users and developers. The Entertainment Software Association recently reported that a staggering 227 million Americans engage in video gaming activities weekly, with an average player age of 31, indicating a broad and growing acceptance of immersive content across various demographics. Furthermore, the integration of AI with VR and AR technologies is facilitating the expansion of these platforms beyond entertainment, reaching into sectors such as healthcare and business.

As consumer demand shifts towards more personalized, high-resolution experiences, metaverse technology is advancing rapidly, focusing on low-latency infrastructures. Platforms like hesp.live are revolutionizing streaming by offering lightning-fast delivery for applications across gaming, education, and live commerce. Despite experiencing considerable backlash initially due to subpar user experiences and difficulties in user engagement, progress within the metaverse realm has not stalled. While public interest waned post-2022, ongoing innovations are propelling the metaverse forward. These advancements, coupled with the increasing appetite for video-on-demand services, underscore the integral role of the metaverse within contemporary digital viewing habits. North America remains at the forefront of this market, driven by key players and substantial digital spending, while the Asia Pacific region is also poised for growth due to the rapid adoption of immersive technologies.

This trajectory indicates that the metaverse is more than a fleeting trend; it represents a fundamental paradigm shift in how individuals interact, communicate, and connect within digital environments. As immersive settings disrupt traditional media consumption, the metaverse emerges as a promising investment landscape.

To form our list of the 12 Best Metaverse Stocks to Invest In, we undertook extensive research to pinpoint companies with significant exposure to metaverse technologies. This process began with the utilization of stock screeners, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and online rankings to compile a comprehensive list of relevant companies. We then analyzed the number of hedge fund holders with stakes in these companies as of the fourth quarter of 2024, leveraging data from Insider Monkeys hedge fund database. The companies that made the final cut are those with the highest levels of hedge fund interest.

Why focus on stocks that hedge funds are investing in? The answer is straightforward: research indicates that mirroring the top stock picks of leading hedge funds can yield superior market performance. Our quarterly newsletters strategy includes selecting 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks each quarter, boasting a remarkable return of 373.4% since May 2014substantially outpacing its benchmark by 218 percentage points.

Is NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) the premier metaverse stock to consider for investment?

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) holds a dominant position in accelerated computing and graphics technology on a global scale, with a diverse product portfolio that encompasses gaming, data centers, AI applications, and automotive technology. The companys offerings include GeForce GPUs, the Omniverse platform, NVIDIA AI Enterprise solutions, and cutting-edge networking technologies. Through its Omniverse and RTX technologies, which are vital components of the future metaverse, NVIDIA has established itself as a leader in delivering digital twin solutions and promoting virtual teamwork.

For the quarter ending January 26, 2025, NVIDIA Corporation reported a record revenue of $39.3 billion, reflecting a 12% increase from the previous quarter and an impressive 78% year-over-year growth. Over the full fiscal year of 2025, revenue surged by 114% to $130.5 billion, while data center revenue for Q4 reached $35.6 billion, marking a remarkable 93% increase year-over-year, fueled by heightened demand for AI and inference computing technologies. Notably, automotive revenue also experienced significant growth, doubling to $570 million, although gaming revenue fell to $2.5 billion due to supply chain challenges. The companys GAAP earnings per share (EPS) reached $0.89, showing an 82% increase from the previous year, and NVIDIA returned $8.1 billion to shareholders through dividends and buyback initiatives.

NVIDIA is also driving innovation in AI with its Blackwell architecture, contributing $11 billion in Q4 revenue by enhancing performance for reasoning-based AI tasks. The anticipated launch of the Blackwell Ultra and Vera Rubin architectures indicates continued momentum in research and development. In addition, partnerships with cloud service providers, automotive manufacturers, and healthcare organizations are broadening NVIDIAs influence across AI training, inference, and edge computing applications. Impressively, 75% of the worlds top supercomputers are powered by NVIDIA platforms.

Looking ahead, NVIDIA projects a first-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of around $43 billion. With the increasing adoption of Omniverse and RTX technologies, NVIDIA Corporation appears to solidify its position as one of the foremost metaverse stocks. The ongoing expansion of AI supercomputers and simulation platforms, such as Cosmos and DRIVE, illustrates NVIDIAs ambitious vision to facilitate immersive, intelligent virtual environments across various sectors.

In conclusion, NVIDIA ranks third on our list of the best metaverse stocks to consider for investment. Although we recognize the immense potential of NVDA, we believe that specific AI stocks may offer greater promise for achieving higher returns in a shorter timeframe. We have identified an AI stock that has seen an increase since the beginning of 2025, while other popular AI stocks have lost around 25% in value. For those seeking an AI investment that is potentially more lucrative than NVDA but trades at less than five times its earnings, we recommend checking out our report on this undervalued AI stock.

For further insights, explore our articles on the 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and the 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published by Insider Monkey.