Virtual reality
Qualcomm today launched a new developer platform for building head-worn augmented reality experiences: the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform. The only supported hardware for the platform is currently Lenovo’s ThinkReality…
As an investor in VR and AR since 2016, I find it cautiously encouraging to hear all the talk of “metaverse” on trending business channels today.
Match Group details plans for a dating ‘metaverse,’ Tinder’s virtual goods-based economy
Tinder has already undergone a big revamp with its recent launch of “Explore,” a new section inside the app that will enable more interactive experiences, including the second “Swipe Night”…
Microsoft Teams gets 3D animated avatars, because metaverse
Microsoft wants a piece of the metaverse, too, so at its Ignite conference today, the company announced 3D avatars for those Teams meetings where you don’t want to be on…
Meta (Facebook) is buying Within, creators of the ‘Supernatural’ VR fitness app
A day after Facebook’s rebranding as Meta (and simultaneous and unceremonious dropping of the Oculus brand), the company announced that it is acquiring Within. The Los Angeles firm is the…
Company formerly known as Facebook unceremoniously kills off ‘Oculus’ brand
At the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event this morning, Mark Zuckerberg announced that despite a name change, Facebook Meta’s mission will remain the same and that its existing brands wouldn’t be…
Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta
Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus has a new name. Facebook’s corporate entity is now…
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is in development for Oculus Quest 2
During its big VR and AR-focused event Thursday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major new title headed to its VR platform that should turn a few heads.…
Soon you’ll be able to read incessant Slack messages without ever having to take off your VR headset. At Facebook’s Connect conference, the company showcased a new framework for bringing…
Facebook wants to make its Quest 2 headset a productivity device for a new generation of remote workers, but in order to pull that off, it needs apps. Today, Facebook…
Admix raises $25M Series B to scale up in-game ads, and prep for metaverse gaming
Last year we covered adtech startup Admix’s $7 million Series A funding. The London-based company brings ads to games, e-sports, virtual reality and augmented reality. In-game advertising at scale, where…
Unity launches Unity Gaming Services to simplify development of cross-platform, multiplayer games
Unity, the platform that enables creators to develop 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles and augmented and virtual reality devices, launched a beta version of Unity…
Featured Article
Core might be the Vegas of the metaverse
A self-described “endless arcade,” Core feels like a 90s cyberpunk fever dream come to life. Half playable game library, half no-code game creator, all neon lights, the new platform is a surprisingly well-realized vision of this metaverse thing everyone sure seems to be talking about lately. Billing itself as your “portal to the multiverse,” Core…
HTC reveals the $499 Vive Flow, a tiny VR headset with some big tradeoffs
Today, HTC has revealed their latest consumer-focused headset, the $499 Vive Flow. It’s designed for portability with a compact design and 189 gram weight, though there are some big caveats,…
Google’s latest virtual tour lets you walk the Great Wall of China
Google’s Arts & Culture team is today launching a new online experience that lets users virtually walk the Great Wall of China. The “Walk the Great Wall of China” experience…
Avatar startups have come and gone over the past few years, but the future that many of the entrepreneurs behind them originally imagined has proven more or less accurate. Apple…
How four-person startup Luminopia is using TV to treat lazy eye
If you’re diagnosed with lazy eye — otherwise known as amblyopia — as a child, there are only a few options at your disposal. You can wear an eye patch,…
For the love of the loot: Blockchain, the metaverse and gaming’s blind spot
The way NFTs are currently being discussed in relation to gaming are very much in danger of killing the core gameplay loop via a financial fast track.
Reducing waste is key to meeting environmental milestones, and some retail firms have narrowed in on a unique approach to minimize what their customers throw away: personalization.
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review. Last week, we dove into the truly bizarre machinations of the NFT market. This week, we’re talking about something that’s a…
TikTok owner ByteDance buys a top virtual reality hardware startup
TikTok parent company ByteDance seems to be looking to one-up Facebook anywhere it can. After taking over the mantle of most-downloaded social media app in the world with TikTok, ByteDance…
Korean 3D spatial data tool startup Urbanbase closes $11.1M Series B+ round
Urbanbase, a Seoul-based company that develops a 3D spatial data platform for interior planning and design, announced today it has raised $11.1 million (13 billion won) in a Series B+…
Messenger celebrates its 10th anniversary with new features and a plan to become the ‘connective tissue’ for real-time experiences
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Messenger today announced a handful of new features: poll games, word effects, contact sharing and birthday gifting via Facebook Pay. But beyond the fun features,…
You can now buy the $299 Oculus Quest 2 with 128GB of storage
Following its announcement late last month, Facebook’s new 128GB model of the Oculus Quest 2 is now available to buy, for the same $299 price as the previous 64GB base…
Facebook’s journey toward making virtual reality a thing has been long and circuitous, but despite mixed success in finding a wide audience for VR, they have managed to build some…
Zuckerberg is turning trillion-dollar Facebook into a ‘metaverse’ company, he tells investors
Following the quarterly release of Facebook’s earnings numbers where the company’s CFO takes time to walk through the nitty gritty of the company’s financials, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a moment…
Bottom line: VR usage needs more scale before ad revenue makes a dent.
Virtual reality did not turn into the ultimate office replacement telepresence machine during the pandemic — and it wasn’t for lack of trying — but some startups focused on employee…
Apple and Snap partner JigSpace, the ‘Canva for 3D,’ raises a $4.7M Series A
When former Art Director Zac Duff started teaching a game development course online in 2015, he faced the same challenges that teachers around the globe have become all too familiar…
Training platform Virti raises $10M Series A led by IQ Capital to teach soft skills in VR
As the pandemic took hold, training staff had to “go virtual.” Typically, that would have meant falling back on existing corporate training solutions, which we all know and “love.” Could…
