Virtual reality
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Crunch Report | Benchmark vs Kalanick Goes Sour
Reddit is rolling out its own video platform, VR adtech company Immersv raises $10.5 million and Benchmark versus Kalanick goes sour. All this on Crunch Report Read More
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Crunch Report | Virtual Reality Star Wars Experience Is Coming to Disney Parks
VR Star Wars Experience is coming to Disney, Vector launches micro-satellites into orbit and iPhone 8 will take even better photos. All this on Crunch Report! Read More
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Korean startup Urbanbase gets $1.8M to turn apartment floor plans into virtual reality
Urbanbase, a Seoul-based startup that makes virtual reality tools for interior planning and design, plans to expand in Asia after raising $1.8 million in Series A funding. Its investors are CKD Venture Capital, Magellan Technology and Capstone Partners. Read More
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Experience the future of reality simulations at Disrupt SF 2017 with Unity and Improbable
Video games have never been just games, but as developers grow their ambitions, thanks to evolving, powerful game development tools, the line between real life and simulation has been growing much murkier. To hear more about it, join us at Disrupt SF 2017, where we’ll be chatting with John Riccitiello, the CEO of Unity, and Herman Narula, the CEO and co-founder of Improbable. Read More
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We went gaming at a VR arcade in Hong Kong
TechCrunch was in Hong Kong last week for tech conference Rise — where we watched two robots talking together on stage, among other things. The event is well-known for its after-parties and social activities, but one night we sneaked away from the crowd with a few friends to check out a virtual reality arcade. Playdium is a new entry to the city, having only opened its doors at the start… Read More
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Mysterious stealth gaming startup Wonder announces $14 million in funding
Ah, another day, another stealth mobile gaming startup getting funded by Shakira. LA-based Wonder announced today that it has closed a Series A round of funding. The startup is building what it claims to be a new breed of “VR-ready” gaming hardware in secret, but seems to have been gesturing loudly about just how secret it is. Read More
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LiveLike will now let you watch sports with your Facebook friends in VR
LiveLike, the service that partners with sports broadcasters to create and host their VR viewing experiences, is going social. LiveLike’s VR experience is a “virtual suite” overlooking the field, where you can select different camera angles, look around the suite, view pre-produced content, etc. And now you’ll be able to do this with friends. Read More
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Samsung quietly acquired VR app studio VRB
Samsung has been bullish on virtual reality hardware, hoping that its early moves in headsets and devices to shoot content will give it a stronger position in the space as (and if!) it continues to expand to more applications and users. Now TechCrunch has learned that as part of that effort, it’s also made an acquisition. Samsung quietly bought a New York-based startup called VRB, which… Read More
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What do true gamers REALLY think of VR?
The potential for VR truly boggles the mind. In the future, it’s easy to imagine the various use-cases in education, entertainment, business, and social. But like any new technology, VR needs a ‘gateway drug’, and thus far that initial use-case has been gaming. Sony is pushing PlayStation VR hard with a handful of new games, some existing and others brand new. Nintendo is… Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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VR is in Apple’s future, but AR is the logical short term play
For Apple, augmented reality is the clear short term play. It’s not so much that the company doesn’t see any future in virtual reality – it’s just that the tools for a quality AR experience are already here, in the pockets of millions of users. Your smartphone’s cameras, processing and interface are already an ideal delivery service for an enjoyable augmented… Read More
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Crunch Network
How to create the most value for the next technology wave
Major technology platforms shift every 10-15 years, with new platforms building on the ones they preceded. We’re due for the next major technology platform shift, and artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality are those next platforms. So how do you maximize value creation for the next wave? Read More
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Google I/O 2017 VR keynote live blog
We’re here at day two of Google I/O 2017, and the show starts with a keynote specific to Google’s work in VR, led by its head of virtual reality and augmented reality, Clay Bavor. The keynote gets started at 9:30 AM PT (12:30 PM PT) so tune in. Read More
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Improbable grabs $502M led by Softbank at a $1B+ valuation for its virtual world Spatial OS
Improbable, the London startup that has developed a platform for third parties to build vast virtual and simulated worlds, has landed a stratospheric round of funding to double down on its product and expand its ecosystem of developers. The company, which also has offices in San Francisco, has raised $502 million in funding led by SoftBank, with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and… Read More
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Microsoft announces its own motion controllers for mixed reality
Microsoft doubled down on its commitment to what it called “mixed reality” today at its Build developer conference, revealing motion controllers that work closely with VR headsets from Acer. With a $399 bundle containing all you need coming later this year, it could be one of the more affordable ways out there to get into the VR game. Read More
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Crunch Network
XR is a new way to consider the reality continuum
We are smack dab in the middle of the widespread proliferation of a new medium that plays with and alters our perception of space, time and physical presence. It’s a new something-reality, and folks in the industry and consumers alike are all scrambling to come up with the best way to describe these burgeoning modalities of interacting with physical and virtual space. Read More
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Exploring Virtualities, a Utah VR arcade and theater startup taking over a dying mall
Virtualities founder Ryan Burningham has a new idea for abandoned retail spaces — VR. VR theaters and arcades like Virtualities are starting to pop up in warehouses and other empty spaces around the U.S., including Burningham’s startup, located in what used to be a Hot Topic on the second floor of the Gateway Mall on Salt Lake City’s west side. Read More
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Facebook launches React VR, a new JavaScript framework for building basic VR apps
Facebook today announced the launch of React VR, a new JavaScript framework that lets developers build virtual reality experiences with the help of JavaScript. React VR takes its cues from Facebook’s existing React framework; just like with React for standard web apps, VR developers can now use the same declarative model to write apps for their 360-degree experiences. Read More
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A second life for open-world games as self-driving car training software
A lot of top-tier video games enjoy lengthy long-tail lives with remasters and re-releases on different platforms, but the effort put into some games could pay dividends in a whole new way, as companies training things like autonomous cars, delivery drones and other robots are looking to rich, detailed virtual worlds to provided simulated training environments that mimic the real… Read More
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Facebook opens up 360-degree live streaming to all
Facebook just made live streaming 360-degree video relatively easy, provided you have the equipment to capture the content. Users of devices like the new 2017 model Gear 360 just announced at the S8 smartphone launch, or the Insta360 Nano (for iPhone) and Air (for Android), or a host of higher-end models designed for pros, you can go live and broadcast an immersive feed for your… Read More
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As the Oculus Rift turns 1, Facebook is still responsible for where VR industry goes next
Today, the Oculus Rift turns one. 🎂🎂🎂 The virtual reality system very well may have been the most important consumer gadget to be released last year, and for all the critiques and praise that have pushed it through 2016, it’s clear we’re still looking at a technology that hasn’t scratched its fullest potential. For better or worse, Facebook’s Oculus has… Read More
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