Last year augmented reality (AR) startup 8th Wall aimed to capitalise on the growing AR trend by launching its XR platform for Android and iOS devices, integrating with both ARCore and ARKit. Today, the company has announced the closure of a Series A funding round to accelerate development, securing $8 million USD of investment.8th Wall XR
The funding round was led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund), Shasta Ventures and Sparkland Capital. Vab Goel, a general partner at Norwest Venture Partners, has joined the company’s board of directors.
Currently, using Apple’s ARKit and iOS 11 developers can make and distribute consumer ready AR apps, like Linden.io’s ARrived. While Google’s ARCore is still in beta with developers, with an Android public roll out expected in 2018 – AR Stickers on Pixel devices are the only ARCore option at present.
With 8th Wall’s XR platform however that’s not a problem so that AR applications can now run on over 2.5B smartphones. At present developers can access an early release which includes optimized computer vision algorithms for 6DoF tracking, lighting estimation and surface detection, paired with easy-to-use APIs for transparent shadows, camera overlays and deformable surface meshes.
“Most people’s first experiences with AR will happen on mobile, and mobile AR will undoubtedly be the catalyst for growth in a wide range of industries,” said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, Founder and CEO of 8th Wall in a statement. “AR presents the chance to reimagine applications in a way never previously possible and will lead to user interactions that are much more natural. AR developers hold the key, but they need a new suite of tools and services to make it happen. We help them get through the door faster.”
“8th Wall is accelerating adoption of AR and exploiting the potential of the technology,” said Vab Goel, general partner at Norwest Venture Partners. “Erik and his team know what it takes to succeed in mobile development. Norwest Venture Partners is excited about 8th Wall’s vision.”
8th Wall will also use the funding to expand it plans into engineering, product design and business roles. As it does so, VRFocus will keep you updated.