This is the first-ever global competition for innovators pioneering a new era for health and wellness in the metaverse and Web3; Will be judged by a high-profile panel of experts and is co-sponsored by WellTech Ventures and Meta.

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the most prestigious conference on the $4.4 trillion business of wellness, today announced the focus of its 3rd annual Call for Innovation competition: Wellness and the Metaverse. This is the first global competition for startups and established companies now creating health and wellness solutions and experiences for the emerging metaverse and Web3.

Submissions will be judged by a heavy-hitter group of ten international CEOs, business leaders and venture capitalists in the wellness and tech spaces. These include two top executives in charge of tech startups and wellbeing at Meta, the head of the Technological Infrastructure Division at the Israeli Innovation Institute, and the Head of Strategy at Nike Data Science Innovation. The “Global Wellness Summit Prize” will be awarded at the conference being held at the Hilton Tel Aviv from October 31 to November 3.

The Call for Innovation was founded in 2020 by the GWS and WellTech Ventures, Israel’s leading fund focused exclusively on investing in the wellness space. WellTech Ventures has sponsored the competition since 2020, and this year they’re spearheading the competition in addition to being host sponsor of the Tel Aviv Summit. The GWS, and Meta (formerly Facebook), the global multinational whose technologies help more than three billion people connect, find communities, and grow businesses, are also sponsors.

“It’s our pleasure to lead another GWS Call for Innovation this year together with Meta,” said Amir Alroy, co-founder of WellTech Ventures. “The focus on health and wellness in the metaverse is timely: It’s already a key aspect of the emerging metaverse and it’s going to make even more of an impact in the next few years because it enables a whole new patient experience and a much more immersive approach to health and wellness.”

“We’re excited to partner with WellTech Ventures and the Global Wellness Summit for this Call for Innovation,” said Omer Rosenblum, Head of Wellbeing Vertical at Meta. “The last few years have sharpened our focus on our health and our wellbeing. We are seeing digital health and wellness at the forefront of innovation and becoming one of the leading sectors of the metaverse–with fitness, mental health and mindfulness startups utilizing XR capabilities to deliver impact to users. This is just the beginning and we’re excited to see what lies ahead for the wellness industry.” 

The ‘Why’ of the Competition & How It Works:

The metaverse, a profound digital platform shift, is becoming the multi-trillion-dollar frontier for a more engaged virtual world. A recent report from McKinsey & Co. forecast that annual consumer and business global spending within the metaverse could reach $5 trillion by 2030. Health and wellness will be one of the metaverse’s bright spots, with emerging technologies such as virtual, augmented and merged reality, haptics, blockchain, gamification, and crypto (together with many still unrealized technologies and behaviors) that will better engage more and more people in health and wellness experiences.

Every sector in the global wellness economy–whether it’s fitness, travel, beauty, mental wellness, medical-wellness, nutrition, or employee wellness–has a huge opportunity in the coming metaverse. The competition encourages companies that are innovating new metaverse and Web3 solutions in any wellness sector to apply–from early-stage startups to large, established companies. The winner will have the opportunity to present their concept to the hundreds of global industry leaders gathered at the Summit.

The contest is now open and closes Sept. 20, 2022. APPLY HERE.