With a market capitalization of SAR 7.15 trillion ($1.91T), Saudi Aramco is the world’s biggest publicly traded oil and gas company and the third-largest company across the globe, trailing only Apple and Microsoft have a market cap of $2.41T and $1.91T, respectively. Since funding $5 million in the blockchain-powered commodities post-trade service platform, Into Vakt, at the start of 2020, the company has been deeply involved in Web3 technology.
DroppGroup is a web3 software developer whose product suite consists of tokenized systems, augmented reality, and AI and machine learning platforms. In September of last year, droppLabs, the parent company of droppGroup, took over Phly to establish the first-ever “phygital” metaverse.
Saudi Arabia was one of the earliest adopters of web3 with initiatives such as Neom’s cognitive metaverse endeavor XVRS, which is modeled on the nation’s futuristic metropolis. In September 2022, the Saudi central bank appointed Mohsen AlZahrani, a veteran managing director at Accenture, to oversee its venture into web3, establishing a digital assets division charged with building a digital currency (CBDC).
The nation partnered with the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives to introduce National Day to the metaverse later in the month. Aramco’s venture into web3 is a portion of its larger process to expand into new industries, which is tied to Saudi Arabia’s long-term objective of minimizing its dependence on oil and gas.