Cybersecurity Firm Qihoo 360 Launches Metaverse Product “N World”

Cybersecurity company Qihoo 360 has recently launched a metaverse product called “N World,” Tech Planet reported on Friday. The platform is composed of a number of “interest worlds,” which can be created by users.

Participants can create interesting topics, engage in voice interactive immersive gameplay, access identity cards and establish private exclusive territories. According to sources close to Qihoo 360, the company is paying close attention to this product, and has given its official website a domain under “n.cn,” which is worth 10 million yuan ($1.57 million).

2021 witnessed a blooming of the metaverse industry in China. ByteDance spent huge sums of money to acquire VR equipment manufacturer Pico, which is working to build the underlying facilities of the metaverse. Meanwhile, Tencent set up an internal XR team, and Baidu launched the “Xirang” metaverse app.

Regarding this new technological frontier, Zhou Hongyi, chairman of Qihoo 360, said: “Metaverse is the highest realm of digitalization, which should be viewed in two different views based on right or wrong direction. Metaverse’s challenge is essentially a challenge of digital security.”

Therefore, Qihoo 360 considers network security as an opportunity to enter into the metaverse industry. A product manager of Qihoo 360 said: “Metaverse security is a new industry, and it will be a quick and effective way for Qihoo 360 to enter metaverse through cybersecurity, and the competitive pressure will not be too tough.” At the beginning of this year, Qihoo 360 has added the post of “metaverse security” to attract more talent.

Apart from the metaverse, Qihoo 360 has explored several valuable fields in recent years, such as new energy vehicles, financial technology, voice chat, livestreaming e-commerce, smartphones, and more. However, the company’s operations in these fields are not well known, and it has even pulled out of some markets.

Qihoo 360 invested in Hozon Auto last year, and its automobile safety guards have also been deployed on the new NETA U model to improve the new car’s privacy and driving safety.

Since 2021, Qihoo 360’s exploration of new businesses has notably decreased compared with before 2020. It is now mainly developing new tools, including for travel, web searching and emotional analysis.

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In January, Zhou Hongyi sent an internal letter to all employees, announcing that Qihoo 360 has transformed into a cybersecurity company to serve the digital transformation of governmental and traditional enterprises.