Roblox comes to Quest, Sol Reader takes $5 million, & BMW accelerate Metaverse push.
Also this week...EU look to take block tech giant metaverse dominance, Google's AR Software leader quits, and Elon Musk announces a new AI start-up.
Good morning Metaverse Business Brief readers. Let’s jump into the most relevant news from the immersive world in our weekly roundup.
Top Stories
Roblox coming to Meta’s Quest VR headsets. Following strong rumours suggesting that the online gaming platform would become available, Meta have confirmed that Roblox will be coming to Quest VR headsets. An open beta will become available on the App Lab in the coming weeks, with players able to access the game on Quest 2, Quest Pro, and the forthcoming Quest 3.
The EU plans to avoid big tech Metaverse dominance. A recent European Commission meeting led to the announcement of a plan to establish an industrial ecosystem which would enable the EU to become the global leader in the Metaverse and prevent big tech domination. The EU have set out initiatives in a bid to improve opportunities for smaller companies in the face of greater sized rivals, with economic growth the major target.
Mark Lucovsky quits post at Google AR. Mark served as head of operating systems in the AR team at the search giant, which has been beset by numerous issues in recent months. Mark’s departure is the latest in a long run of leadership changes while also following multiple rounds of substantial layoffs. His reason for leaving was cited as being due to the company’s ‘unstable commitment and vision’.
Elon Musk announces new AI start-up. Elon’s latest move sees the birth of a new company called 'xAI’, of which the goal is to “understand the true nature of the universe” according to founder Musk. The founding of xAI comes after the relationship between the billionaire Musk and Open AI - creators of the language model ChatGPT that he once passionately supported - soured amidst claims of a ‘liberal bias’ within the tech itself.
In Funding
Sol Reader raise $5 million. Sol Reader emerged as a VR headset designed specifically for the purpose of reading books. The device aims to provide an immersive reading environment in the form of a VR led focused reading experience that eliminates distractions found on typical digital devices.
MicroOLED take €21 million. The fundraising round, led by Jolt Capital, will enable the OLED microdisplay manufacturer to finance research and development of a new range of forthcoming full color, high luminance OLED solutions, to expand manufacturing capabilities, and to grow an international sales team.
FourPlus secure $1.29 million. The UK based immersive tech company has secured the funding from Innovate UK, as it looks to develop a mixed-reality training platform built for use in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. A demonstrable version of the platform is predicted to be available by the end of 2023.
Keep an eye on
BMW invite customers to new metaverse. The BMW Motorrad MetaRide is a new virtual brand space hosted on the VR social platform Spatial. The new world is dedicated to the BMW CE 02, a new motorcycle from the auto manufacturer. Users can create an avatar and then engage in a virtual test ride, play basketball, and collect virtual tokens plus a custom digital jacket.
ByteDance establish ‘Pico Lab’. The new service is essentially a Pico equivalent for the Meta’s existing Quest ‘App Lab’. Pico Lab intends to allow smaller developers to host and share their content with possible users. It can also serve as a manner for larger devs to publicly test ideas. The major difference between Pico Lab and the App Lab is that Pico Lab will currently only support free apps and no in-app payments.
Korg release VR music production software. ‘Korg Gadget’ is being made available on iOS, Mac, Windows and Nintendo Switch. When paired with a compatible VR headset, Korg Gadget will create an “intuitive” user interface within a virtual studio complete with synths and other instruments. The VR software arranges the studio in a 360° environment around the user, encouraging interaction with the 3D environment.
FitXR claim women’s workouts create new VR customers. Sam Cole is the creator of FitXR, a VR exercise app available for Meta’s Quest headsets. In an interview, Cole claims that the stereotyped early adopter audience of ‘young men’ is being augmented with time, with women in their mid-thirties and older said to be taking interest in headset tech for use as fitness equipment as opposed to a gaming or enterprise device.
Events to be at
August 08 Online | Insights Live: How the Metaverse would Transform Education
August 30 Singapore | AWE Asia 2023
September 23 Online | Insights Live: How can CEOs stop feeling alone?
October 24-26 Houston | The 10th Augmented Enterprise Summit
November 30 Rotterdam | The 7th International VR Awards
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news and comments to team@aixr.org.
July 17 2023 Edition - Issue 28