The virtual reality (VR) sector is still growing at a rapid rate, as VRFocus has reported previously. The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund) has today released it’s quarterly report going into detail on the global rise of VR.
Previous VR fund reports showed the rate of growth in Europe, and now it turns it’s attention the the rest of the world, noting several areas of interest, such as the doubling in size of the gaming and entertainment sector of VR, with that area featuring not just large companies, but also well-funded start-ups generating a solid amount of revenue in both the US and Asia.
The report also notes that the number of companies associated with VR grew over 40 percent, with the largest growth area being companies developing apps for head-mounted displays (HMDs).
In non-gaming areas, education, healthcare and journalism saw significant growth, while the report notes that advertising and analytics saw solid funding increases, which matches the increased amount of attention dedicated to VR advertising we have noted on VRFocus.
There has also been a significant increase in VR content creation in general, according to the report. New management systems and native platforms allowing content such as 360-degree video and photos to be quickly sent to the customer base. The VR Fund report also noticed a lot of activity in the area of 3D sound, notably with Valve acquiring Impulsonic and Korean company G’Audio entering the sector.
Infrastructure also saw significant activity, with Windows adding its own VR platform alongside partners such as HP and Lenovo, which could be a large step towards VR becoming truly mainstream.
The report is optimistic about the future, hoping to see the ‘all-in-one’ VR system that includes headset, position tracking and full gesture control happen ‘within a few years’.
As always, VRFocus will keep you informed on industry trends and reports.