Mozilla acquires Active Replica to fuel its metaverse strategy

SAN FRANCISCO: Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, has completed the acquisition of the US-based virtual spaces and events start-up Active Replica to bolster its metaverse strategy.

Mozilla purchased the startups as it builds out Hubs, the company's virtual reality (VR) collaboration platform.

"Bringing onboard Active Replica will help us accelerate some of our most important, in demand work, including more personalised subscription tiers, improving the Hubs on-boarding experience, and introducing new interaction capabilities in the Hubs engine," Imo Udom, Mozilla SVP said in a blogpost.

"Together, we see this as a key opportunity to bring even more innovation and creativity to Hubs than we could alone. We will benefit from their unique experience and ability to create amazing experiences that help organisations use virtual spaces to drive impact," he added.

Active Replica, which was founded in 2020, provides virtual event packages that include custom venue design, event planning, live entertainment, and tech support.

"Mozilla has long advocated for a healthier internet and has been an inspiration to us in its dedication and contributions to the open web. By joining forces with the Mozilla Hubs team, we are able to further expand on our mission and inspire a new generation of creators, connectors, and builders," said Jacob Ervin and Valerian Denis, co-founders, Active Replica.

Mozilla launched Hubs in 2018, which provides the dev tools and infrastructure necessary to allow users to visit a portal through any browser and collaborate with others in a VR environment.