Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) has been growing dramatically and there is little doubt it will continue to do so over the longer term. SuperData Research projects virtual reality to grow to $38bn by 2020 and Goldman Sachs estimates that VR/AR could generate $45bn in annual revenue by 2025 (or even reach $110bn, surpassing the TV market in an upside scenario). Not surprisingly, Facebook is focusing on VR/AR as one of its next key growth engines – in 2014, Facebook acquired Oculus VR, a leader in virtual reality technology. More recently, Facebook’s Zuckerberg indicated that augmented reality is Facebook’s next big act, calling it “Act 2” for the company. Over $2.3 billion was raised in VR/AR startups in 2016 versus $658 million in 2015. Head mounted displays accounted for approximately half of the 2016 investment, and solutions/services, video, peripherals, games, applications and advertising accounted for most of the rest. The future dramatic growth will include expansion of this technology into other markets including real estate, healthcare, education, tourism, and construction.
VR/AR investors include:
21st Century Fox, Alibaba, Amazon, Anorak Ventures, B Capital, Boost VC, CIC, CITIC, Colopl Next, Comcast, DFJ, Fidelity, Google, GREE VR Capital, Greylock, HTC, Intel, J.P. Morgan, KPCB, Lenovo, Lightspeed, Maven Ventures, MGM, NetEase, Outpost Capital, Presence Capital, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sand Hill Road, Sequoia, Signia Ventures, Softbank, Super Ventures, T.Rowe Price, Tencent, The VR Fund, Warner Bros, Wellington
Key April 2017 VR/AR Raises/Acquisitions
| Company | $ Millions | Description |
| Purdue University | 0.8 | Received grant to train manufacturers in VR |
| UpSkill | 1.4 | Builds enterprise software for industrial AR devices |
| AMD | Not disclosed | Acquired IP and key engineering team from Nitero to create wireless VR and AR headsets |
| Virtualitics | 4.4 | Develops an analytics software for virtual reality and augmented reality application market |
| Pluto VR | 13.9 | VR/AR capabilities for video-conferencing, social media, and online gaming |
| GeoCV
|
1.8
|
Scans interior spaces using a 3D camera equipped smartphone and proprietary software that can be viewed in 3D from any angle in virtual reality (VR), or in a web browser |
| Baidu Inc. | Acquisition | Acquired visual perception technology company, xPerception Technology |
| Avegant | 13.7 | Mixed reality headset |
| Whodat | 0.6 | Building a proprietary hybrid SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) system to place virtual information without any markers |
| Vizor | 2.3 | Building a platform to produce 360 degree tours |
| Shadow Creator | 14.0 | VR software and headset maker |
Sources: techcrunch.com, digi-capital.com, haptic.al
