Virbela Launches New Metaverse Campus to Better Connect Physical and Virtual Working Worlds

Rhea-AI Summary

Virbela has launched a redesigned virtual campus and advanced avatar system, along with native Zoom integration, enhancing remote work experiences. This platform aims to foster collaboration and community among global businesses, allowing users to customize their environments and avatars. CEO Jason Gesing highlighted that Virbela is a pivotal asset for eXp Realty, which operates entirely in a virtual world. The updates support thousands of concurrent users and will be available to customers soon, following their introduction at the inaugural Hands In 2022 community summit.

Positive

• Introduced a newly designed virtual campus with enhanced user experience.
• Released an advanced avatar system with billions of customization options.
• First native integration with Zoom allowing seamless connectivity.
• Supports thousands of users concurrently, surpassing competitors.
• Virbela recognized as a significant competitive advantage for eXp Realty.

Negative

• None.

Virtual platform empowers companies to create employee experiences that foster collaboration and build community

SAN DIEGO, March 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virbela^®, an immersive technology company that’s redefining the workplace for global businesses, today unveiled a newly designed virtual campus, more flexible avatar system, and native integration with Zoom. These innovations will give companies and their employees greater choice and control over how they work, connecting people regardless of physical location, while building a greater sense of community and culture.

“The enterprise metaverse is here, and Virbela is helping address common workplace challenges remote and hybrid organizations are facing today,” said Alex Howland, president and co-founder, Virbela. “In the next five to 10 years we envision millions of individuals and thousands of organizations operating in Virbela’s virtual worlds, and we’ve designed our platform from the ground up to grow with and help organizations improve the employee experience, operate more efficiently, and build strong community and culture.”

Virbela is empowering companies to build more human-centric workplaces that blend the physical and virtual working environments to seamlessly connect people around the world. Today’s product announcements include:

Newly designed virtual campus: A new generation of visual and functional updates have been designed to elevate the user experience, offering greater control and customization.

• Modern and familiar – Inspiration is drawn from real cities, business centers, and nature.
• New grid layout – More flexibility and control are offered, making it perfect for companies that want to invest in building out their own virtual real estate.
• Dynamic architecture – This opens the door to creating digital twins of physical spaces and branded experiences.
  

Advanced avatar system – Virbela set out to create the most diverse, inclusive and flexible avatar system available today.

• Users will have complete control over their look and experience.
• Billions of customization options are available to ensure everyone is represented (e.g., gender, body type, style, mobility, etc).

Zoom integration – This is the first of many native integrations Virbela will have into the leading workplace collaboration tools available to enterprises today.

• Connect to a Virbela meeting, no matter where you are, and from any device.
• Employees can connect the way they want to connect – in the metaverse, a physical office, or dialing in from home.

Some of the most innovative companies are already using Virbela to create experiences that foster collaboration and build community – including recruiting and new hire orientation, learning and development programs, company-wide meetings, team offsites, industry events and more.

“Virbela is one of eXp Realty’s biggest competitive advantages, enabling our cloud-based brokerage model that is growing exponentially with 20 markets around the world and more than 77,000 agents,” said Jason Gesing, CEO, eXp Realty. “Not only are we the only real estate company in the industry operating 100% out of a virtual world – from agent recruitment to C-suite, to board meetings and investor conferences – but we’ve been voted one of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work for five consecutive years. Virbela gives us a sense of place to build community so we can come together, engage and grow.”

Virbela continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in the metaverse at scale:

• Supports thousands of users at once – Virbela’s virtual campus can host more concurrent users within any one environment than any other platform.
• Launched community experiences – Communities can have and create revolutionary cultural experiences together (Black History Library, Women in Tech Panel).
• FRAME™ product updates – Virbela’s FRAME team continues to push the limits of what can be done in virtual spaces right from a browser, most recently launching the FRAME app on the Microsoft Teams App Store, announcing 100 user capacity, an integration with Ready Player Me avatars and several new meeting environments.
  

These updates and more were revealed today at the company’s first-ever community summit, Hands In 2022, which also celebrates 10 years of Virbela building positive office experiences in the metaverse. The new virtual campus will be available for existing and new customers in the coming weeks. Additional product updates will begin rolling out in Q2, onwards.

About Virbela
Virbela is an immersive technology company that’s redefining the workplace for global businesses. Founded in 2012 by a team of behavioral psychologists, Virbela is building the next-generation of products for the Metaverse and VR to give organizations and people greater choice and control over how they work. With immersive virtual environments that are deeply social and collaborative, the world’s most innovative companies are turning to Virbela to create unique experiences that foster collaboration and build community.

Virbela is owned by eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI). To tour our virtual offices, visit virbela.com. Subscribe to our blog or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to join in the discussion.

PR Contact
Beth Handoll
beth@handollpr.com
415-535-8658

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/36ee1afc-7e3f-433c-8589-7c7f988c92f5
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9db044a1-5fe3-4fda-a71e-962ae0c77807

FAQ

What new features were launched by Virbela on March 24, 2022?

Virbela launched a redesigned virtual campus, an advanced avatar system, and native Zoom integration.

How does Virbela enhance remote work experiences?

Virbela’s platform fosters collaboration and community by providing customizable virtual environments and avatars.

What competitive advantage does Virbela provide to eXp Realty?

Virbela enables eXp Realty to operate entirely in a virtual environment, enhancing recruitment and community building.

When will the new Virbela updates be available to customers?

The new virtual campus and updates will be available for existing and new customers in the coming weeks.

What is the capacity of users supported by Virbela's virtual campus?

Virbela's virtual campus can support thousands of concurrent users within one environment.