Google Cloud CEO reveals new plans for metaverse, Web 3.0

New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian on Tuesday revealed company's plans for metaverse and Web 3.0, including a new partnership with leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase which has selected Google Cloud to build advanced exchange and data services.

Google last year announced Project Starline, a technology project that enables coworkers to feel like they are together, even when they are cities apart.

It creates a 3D model of a person, making it feel like you are sitting with someone in the same room -- not at the other end of a video call.

Kurian said during the 'Google Cloud Next 2022' event that after thousands of hours of testing in own offices, including demos with enterprise partners, "we're seeing promising results".

"Today, we're announcing our next phase of testing with an early access program with enterprise partners such as Salesforce, T-Mobile, and others. Starting this year, we'll be deploying units in select partner offices for regular testing," Kurian informed.

Google is also helping Web 3.0 founders and developers with scalability, reliability, security, and data, so they can spend the bulk of their time on innovation.

"We're announcing a new partnership with Coinbase, who has selected Google Cloud to build advanced exchange and data services. We will also enable select customers to pay for cloud services via select cryptocurrencies by using Coinbase Commerce," said Google Cloud CEO.

The company also announced new innovations in Google Workspace.

In Google Meet, "we're taking it a step further with new capabilities, including adaptive framing with AI-powered cameras from Huddly and Logitech that lets everyone in a conference room be seen clearly, and speaker spotlight, which enables presenters to better engage their audience by embedding their video directly in Google Slides," Kurian announced.

"Beyond meetings, we're helping teams have more authentic and expressive communications with custom emojis and inline threaded conversations for Google Chat," he added.

Google said the smart canvas experience is also getting richer with custom building blocks in Google Docs, enabling companies to build their own templates that can be easily accessed by all users.