AltspaceVR

AltspaceVR
Industry Virtual reality
Headquarters Redwood City, California[1]
Key people
 David Gudmundson, Eric Romo, Gavan Wilhite (founders)[2]
Products Social software
Website altvr.com

AltspaceVR is a software startup company based in Redwood City, California. It develops social software for virtual reality environments.[3] According to technology news outlet The Verge, AltspaceVR is "one of the most fully developed platforms" for virtual social interaction.[4]

Company

AltspaceVR was founded in 2013, and launched its initial product in May 2015. Before starting it, CEO and co-founder Eric Romo designed rocket engines for the launch company SpaceX. The company uses a freemium business model, where the basic software is given away to consumers for free, and the business then charges for more advanced features.[5]

AltspaceVR has raised a total of $15.7 million in venture capital investment, including a $10.3 million Series A round led by Comcast Ventures. As of 2015, the company had around 20 employees.[3]

Products

AltspaceVR software provides meeting spaces in virtual reality, where users can have conversations, watch videos, play games, and browse the Internet. Virtual avatars in AltspaceVR can automatically mimic a user's body language, through the use of Microsoft's Kinect.[6] The software supports eye tracking, but the necessary hardware is not yet available in most consumer VR headsets.[7]

In February 2016, AltspaceVR launched on the Samsung Gear VR platform, which creates a virtual environment by putting lenses in front of a user's smartphone screen.[2] It is also compatible with the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift and Google Daydream, as well as a few Android phones. There is also a non-VR version available for PC and Mac. Technology website Engadget described the software as "something like Second Life for virtual reality".[8]

In April 2016, AltspaceVR released the mobile app "VR Call", for Gear VR-compatible Samsung phones. The app allows users to call each other and have the call take place in a VR environment, similar to a telephone service or Skype.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Pullen, John Patrick (January 19, 2016). "This Startup Is Solving Virtual Reality’s Biggest Problem". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Matney, Lucas (February 4, 2016). "AltspaceVR Social Platform Launches On Samsung Gear VR". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 Constine, Josh (July 29, 2015). "VR Chat Room AltspaceVR Raises $10.3M To Sell Virtual Events". TechCrunch. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Robertson, Adi (April 6, 2016). "AltspaceVR wants to make VR chat sessions part of everyday life". The Verge. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Gaudiosi, John (May 20, 2015). "This company created the first social platform for virtual reality". Fortune. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Metz, Rachel (April 6, 2015). "A Startup’s Plans for a New Social Reality". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Eric (June 8, 2015). "My Eyes Are Up Here: Eye-Tracking Comes to Virtual Reality Social Network AltspaceVR". Re/code. Re/code. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Moon, Mariella (February 7, 2016). "Samsung Gear VR users can mingle on AltspaceVR". Engadget. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
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