Technology has become the spice of our modern world, with several revolutionary approaches to life. It brings automation to various tasks and processes, with a focus on problem-solving and customer satisfaction.
Most tech giants have reinvented and diversified their businesses by leveraging great possibilities in innovative technologies. Five prominent technology companies in this category include Amazon, Meta, Holiverse, The Sandbox, and FlutterFlow.
Let’s explore their prominent activities in diverse fields of technology.
Microsoft
Founders – Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975.
CEO – Satya Nadella
Headquarters – Redmond, Washington, United States
Microsoft is, of course, a giant, a true world-class business empire. It seems that only similar size companies like Apple and Google could be compared to it. However, we are not comparing but giving an example of success in business through technology, innovation and diversification. The measurement of success may be different, but the approaches to achieving success may be the same for a transnational company and a greenfield startup.
Microsoft has distinguished itself in the world of technology and innovation.
In 1985, Microsoft introduced its Windows software product. Though it started as a software firm, Microsoft currently has spread its tentacles into several other areas. These include personal computing devices, artificial intelligence (#AI), cloud computing infrastructure and services, and other tech devices.
Notably, the company achieved most of its feats through both small and large acquisitions, although some turned out quite unfavorable. This is a reasonable approach for a company with significant financial resources.
Microsoft dabbled into the #telecommunication sector by acquiring Skype Technologies in 2011. With this app, Microsoft integrated its Xbox and Windows devices to boost its technology capabilities. In 2018, Microsoft took over GitHub, a prominent open-source software development platform.
Also, the company expanded into video gaming by acquiring Mahjong in 2014. This gaming app is popular with Minecraft, a mind-engaging game. Mahjong is now available on different devices, including Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, iOS, etc.
Also, Microsoft has deployed the game studio for several uses, including an educational version of Minecraft for learning.
In 2022, Microsoft concluded its acquisition of Nuance Communication, a conversational AI solution. Nuance offers conversational AI and cloud-based clinical intelligence for healthcare personalities. It also assists healthcare providers with clinical documentation and relevant tools to boost their patients’ experiences.
Microsoft’s #diversification was narrow enough, the company preferred to stay within IT. Since success is obvious, it should be recognized that such a strategy has paid off.
Meta (Facebook)
Founder – Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates founded Meta, formerly Facebook, in 2004.
CEO – Mark Zuckerberg
Headquarters – Menlo Park, California, United States
Meta, formerly Facebook, much younger than Microsoft, but it has managed to grow relatively fast to the size of a supergiant.
Meta has proven its stance and commitment to creating a closer connection among people through innovation. The company provides the means for users to communicate and interact at all times, irrespective of their locations worldwide.
Meta started as FaceMash changed to TheFacebook, and later Facebook, and finally Meta. It stands as the largest social networking platform globally, with over 3.07 billion monthly active users in 2024.
Moreover, Meta boasts a market cap of over $1.3 trillion. Its growth comes from its many acquisitions and partners while focusing on innovative technology.
Meta owns Instagram, a prominent photo and video-sharing online #platform. Meta also acquired WhatsApp, a mobile messaging platform. Besides text messages, WhatsApp offers users the platform to make calls at no cost and share videos, photos, and other documents.
Further, Meta has dabbled into the #metaverse and has introduced the Meta Quest headsets. Meta Quest comprises a series of virtual and augmented reality headsets that enable users to dive into immersive worlds and interact with virtual environments.
Meta has also ventured into AI and is breaking ground through its Meta AI and Llama language models.
The development of the metaverse has become a fundamentally new direction. Zuckerberg found it so important that he renamed the parent company Facebook to Meta. This move was logical, as the name Facebook was associated with a specific social network, it was necessary to expand its meaning. This renaming has become one of the most significant in the history of business.
Like Microsoft, Meta has been cautious about diversification, choosing expertise over business diversity and therefore staying within the IT framework.
Holiverse
Founder – Lado Okhotnikov founded Holiverse (formerly Meta Force) in 2022.
Headquarters – Dubai, UAE.
Holiverse is the youngest company in our review. It is a fast-growing platform established in 2022 that has evolved immensely over a short period of time. Though it started as a digital DeFi platform, the project has expanded into the metaverse.
Formerly Meta Force, Holiverse has established a digital ecosystem, comprising a virtual marketplace where users can exchange digital goods for their real prototypes. Alternatively, users can stake their virtual goods to earn yields in the Holiverse metaverse.
Currently, the number of users of the platform has exceeded 2 million.
With a vision of diversification, Holiverse launched a cosmetics line called Holisthetic. This product is 100% organic and promises to provide a positive effect on the body when used regularly. Users can purchase Holisthetic cosmetic products as NFTs on the Holiverse #marketplace. The NFTs can be exchanged for the real product.
Besides its cosmetic production line, Holiverse has also ventured into media and entertainment, focusing on movies, series, cartoons, and comics. The company has also launched DNA research and is making groundbreaking progress in disease diagnosis and wellness.
Holiverse recently unveiled DNA-based avatars. The technology uses an individual’s unique DNA to create a realistic digital avatar within the metaverse.
The DNA avatars reflect the individual’s health and well-being. It allows users to try various exercise routines, new medications, and even diets virtually. They observe how their choices affect the health of their avatars, allowing them to make informed decisions to optimize well-being in real life.
Holiverse combines the development of a core business with active diversification, choosing creative and high-tech fields. This approach provides business sustainability while maintaining the growth dynamics.
The Sandbox
Founders – Adrien Duermaël, Arthur Madrid, and Sébastien Borget founded The Sandbox as Pixowl in 2011.
CEO – Arthur Madrid
Headquarters – Los Angeles, California, United States
The Sandbox emerged as a metaverse platform, with a focus on enabling people to create, explore, and interact within the virtual space. It functions as a decentralized gaming platform, and users can earn, create, and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in The Sandbox metaverse and marketplace.
Over the years, The Sandbox reinvented its operations through outstanding partnerships and other inclusion for expansion. The company has distinguished itself by committing to innovation and revolutionizing the future of gaming.
The Sandbox included the concept of play-to-earn (P2E), which rewards users for participating and contributing to the platform. The platform has The Sandbox Marketplace, a virtual shop where users can buy or sell LAND digitally. Users can create NFT collections, avatars, equipment, and other tools that can be traded for SAND in the metaverse.
In 2021, The Sandbox introduced its virtual real estate to allow users to own lands in the metaverse. As of November 2021, The Sandbox boasts over 12,000 virtual landowners, including Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5, the Winklevoss twins, Adrian Cheng, Binance, and others.
The Sandbox partnered with Gucci, enabling it to open the “Gucci Vault Land” on the platform in 2022. This collaboration allowed users to play games and stand a chance of winning raffles for the SAND crypto token.
Also, in 2023, The Sandbox collaborated with Havas Play, a Havas Group agency, to expand its Web3 presence and enhance user metaverse experience. The partnership aimed to strengthen the platform’s ability to help brands optimize their Web3 culture.
Additionally, the platform has partnered with other prominent industry leaders including Atari, Square Enix, Shaun the Sheep, Ledger Enterprise, and others.
The Sandbox business strategy involved a variety of collaborations, and it was quite successful.
FlutterFlow
Founders – Abel Mengistu and Alex Greaves founded FlutterFlow in 2020.
CEO – Abel Mengistu
Headquarters – Mountain View, California, United States
FlutterFlow is a fast-growing technology company that offers developers a low-code platform to build mobile applications.
Notably, low-code platforms have gained traction recently as they tend to shorten the typical lengthy app development cycle. And despite being a new startup, FlutterFlow has established its footprint in this sector.
The company provides low-code tools that simplify the development processes of apps that run on Android, iOS, and desktop OS. It has a user-friendly interface that enables developers to create, prototype, and deploy Flutter apps without much code.
When integrated with the Flutter framework, FlutterFlow assists developers in creating cross-platform mobile applications. The brand has distinguished itself as the pathway for users to quickly turn their ideas and concepts into reality.
FlutterFlow has supported the building of different apps relevant to various fields of life. This highlights its flexibility and versatility in the world of technology and beyond.
AB.Money, a meditation and mindset application, cut its slack and was designed through FlutterFlow. This app has become a leader in the education category within the Eastern Europe region, leveraging FlutterFlow’s technological input.
FlutterFlow technology is the building power for Silver, a finance-based app for FSA and HAS claims. It has also found relevance in healthcare. It powers Trust EHR, a digital healthcare platform connecting clinics, hospitals, pharmacists, doctors, and other healthcare professionals with patients.
Conclusion
Technological innovations made us reinvent business approaches, including communication, health, commerce, marketing and advertising, transportation, and more. Companies like Meta, Holiverse, Microsoft, and The Sandbox have positioned themselves at the forefront of such innovations.
They have successfully proven their stance in the field through diversified inclusion. Also, several strategic acquisitions and improvements have helped them to remain sustainable in the evolving technological landscape.
