While the consumer "metaverse" has burned tens of billions and still can't find anyone to use it, there's another version — quieter, but already turning a profit today — inside factories, jet engines, power grids, and entire cities. They build a "digital twin" (digital twin): a living 3D copy of the real thing, fed by real-time sensor data, used to simulate, monitor, optimize, and predict what will break before it breaks. This is pure B2B — boring, complex, but it pays for itself — the metaverse the grown-ups of heavy industry are betting on for real.
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News & notes movingIndustrial Metaverse & Digital Twin
Industrial Metaverse & Digital Twin
Micware and ESRI Japan Form Business Alliance on Spatial Data Infrastructure
Micware has entered into a business alliance with ESRI Japan to develop and commercialize spatial information infrastructure that can continuously capture and analyze changes in the physical world, with applications spanning cities, mobility, roads, and infrastructure. Under the agreement, Micware will provide technology that collects location and video data, while ESRI Japan will use its ArcGIS platform to organize, display, and analyze the information. The two companies will also work on digital models of cities and solutions that use data from vehicles to monitor road conditions, traffic, and surrounding areas. The partnership is part of Micware's DynaPlanet-PF spatial intelligence strategy, and Micware established Micware Spacia on September 1 to expand its spatial intelligence business. No financial terms, contract value, revenue contribution, or earnings impact was disclosed, and ESRI Japan, which participated in Micware's May 14 IPO and acquired Micware's American depositary shares, did not disclose the value of that investment.
Emdoor Information's first-half net profit attributable to parent surges 1,614.8% year on year to 196 million yuan
Emdoor Information released its 2026 interim report, with net profit attributable to the parent company soaring 1,614.8% year on year to 196 million yuan. The company's operating revenue was 2.75 billion yuan, up 80.7% year on year; net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 103 million yuan, up 756.3% year on year; net operating cash flow was negative 744 million yuan, down 134.2% year on year. In the second quarter, operating revenue was 1.61 billion yuan, up 65.9% year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent was 153 million yuan, up 1,076.4% year on year. The company said that, influenced by the wave of AI technology in the global consumer electronics industry, the sector is undergoing a structural recovery. The company continues to deepen its AI-plus core development strategy. Operating revenue from smart hardware products grew 59.23%, XR and AIoT business grew 133.29%, and domestic substitution business grew 51.72%.
3D Mapping and Modeling Market Forecast to Hit $29.2 Billion by 2031
The global 3D mapping and modeling market is projected to reach $29.2 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% from an estimated $17.63 billion in 2026, according to a new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. Digital twin software is expected to be the fastest-growing segment, driven by infrastructure digitalization and integration with BIM, GIS, LiDAR, and reality capture. Cloud deployment is anticipated to lead the market in 2026 as organizations adopt scalable, connected geospatial workflows. North America is forecast to hold the largest market share, while Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region due to rapid urbanization and infrastructure investment. Key drivers include expanding digital twin deployments, growing UAV-based reality capture, and AI-powered automated feature extraction.
Autodesk joins Alliance for OpenUSD as ISO process begins for 3D standards
Autodesk has joined the Alliance for OpenUSD, which has started the ISO certification process for the OpenUSD Core Specification 1.1, aiming to drive global 3D data interoperability and agentic AI workflows. The move ties Autodesk's software ecosystem more closely to OpenUSD as a common 3D data layer across gaming, XR, and enterprise use cases. Autodesk's stock closed at $205.26, down 28.4% year to date and 31.8% over the past year, with a five-year return down 36.0%. The ISO process could influence how quickly regulated industries adopt 3D and AI pipelines on this standard, potentially affecting Autodesk's integration into cross-platform workflows alongside competitors like Unity and NVIDIA.
Alliance for OpenUSD adds ByteDance, Huawei, Physicl, and Unity as members and begins ISO certification for Core Specification 1.1
The Alliance for OpenUSD has added ByteDance, Huawei, Physicl, and Unity as General Members, expanding its reach into gaming, consumer XR platforms, and large-scale enterprise digital transformation. The organization has also begun the ISO certification process for Core Specification 1.1, the first step toward international standardization, and launched a GitHub repository to give developers direct input into the specification's evolution. OpenUSD is emerging as the 3D data layer for agentic AI workflows, with early implementations from Cesium, PTC, and NVIDIA demonstrating how AI agents can understand, navigate, and modify 3D environments built on the Core Specification. AOUSD and member companies including Pixar, NVIDIA, Autodesk, and Epic Games will present sessions at SIGGRAPH 2026 in Los Angeles from July 19 to 23.
NVIDIA Adds Omniverse Libraries to Agent Toolkit for Simulation-Ready 3D Content
NVIDIA announced that its Agent Toolkit now includes Omniverse libraries, a collection of software components that give AI agents tools to add physical AI capabilities to existing applications and prepare 3D content for simulation. The new libraries—ovrtx for RTX sensor simulation, ovphysx for GPU-accelerated physics, and CAD-to-SimReady skills for converting CAD data into simulation-ready assets—are openly available on GitHub. Software makers including SideFX and PTC are integrating these libraries into their 3D applications, with support for cloud and local AI systems ranging from NVIDIA RTX Spark to NVIDIA DGX Station. A new blueprint for integrating Omniverse libraries in Blender is also available, demonstrating how agent-ready simulation capabilities can be added to existing 3D tools while keeping creators in control.
Use Digital Twin and Spatial Computing to Stop Paying Tuition to the Stock Market
Investors can stop paying tuition to the stock market with Digital Twin and Spatial Computing technology, using the concept of creating a simulated portfolio to test risks before investing real money, instead of trial and error that could wipe out principal. Dr. Supachai Sukhanin, an investment and AI expert, reveals that Smart Money uses AI to build a Portfolio Digital Twin, simulating thousands of scenarios such as a sudden bear market to see Maximum Drawdown and asset overlap, before adjusting allocations for the best Risk-Adjusted Return. The Spatial Computing and Digital Twin Platform business sector is growing at an average of nearly 40% per year, and investing in these companies is like investing in the shovel sellers of the virtual world era.
Digital Twin Consortium Adds Entarian to Steering Committee
The Digital Twin Consortium has added Entarian to its steering committee. Entarian, a 1,600-employee integrated mission solutions provider formed through ERT’s acquisition of Sev1Tech and rebranded in April 2026, serves government customers in space, defense, and federal civilian markets. The company will contribute operational digital engineering experience to DTC frameworks such as the Digital Twin Capabilities Periodic Table and the Aerospace & Defense Working Group, while gaining access to guidance on composability, security, and interoperability. Entarian’s work spans satellite ground systems, science data processing, and command-and-control environments for clients including NASA, NOAA, and the U.S. Space Force.
Hanshow Technology and Microsoft Sign Global Strategic Cooperation Agreement
Hanshow Technology and Microsoft have officially signed a long-term global strategic cooperation agreement at Microsoft's headquarters in Seattle. The two parties will engage in full-chain deep collaboration spanning from joint technology research and development to joint market promotion, focusing on areas such as physical AI solutions, store digital twins, and Azure cloud cooperation. Hanshow Technology is one of the world's leading providers of comprehensive digital store solutions for the pan-retail sector. Since fully launching its Hanshow 2.0 strategy in 2025, it has been advancing digital solutions covering all store scenarios, driven by AI and data at its core and centered on digital twins. Microsoft, leveraging the strengths of its Azure platform in cloud computing, big data, AI agents, and edge computing, provides technical support for real-time access, processing, and intelligent analysis of massive store data. This strategic cooperation builds on the memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties in 2024, marking an upgrade from project-level joint innovation to a group-level, long-term strategic alliance targeting the global market.
Vention and Teradyne Robotics launch digital twin platform for Universal Robots cells
Vention and Teradyne Robotics have announced a strategic collaboration to create a digital twin creation platform optimized for Universal Robots robotic cells. Built on Vention's MachineBuilder technology, the platform provides a unified digital environment where manufacturers can design, program, and simulate modular work cells, eliminating traditional trial-and-error and accelerating deployment. The initiative includes a UR-optimized design interface, an exclusive automation marketplace, and a library of validated templates for applications such as machine tending and pick-and-place. Live demonstrations at Automate 2026 will feature Vention's Rapid Operator AI, powered by NVIDIA Isaac, and advanced welding applications using Universal Robots' UR12e and UR20 cobot models.