Wal-Mart, the big-box retail giant, unveiled its Store No. 8 tech startup incubator last year with the aim of researching and investing in emergent tech like AR and VR. Now, Store No. 8 has acquired Spatialand, a startup that has created a platform and toolset for enterprise companies to create VR content.
In addition to her duties as Principal & Founder Store No. 8, Katie Finnegan will be signing on as interim CEO of Spatialand, according to a Wal-Mart blog post.
Spatialand initially worked with Store No. 8 last year to create the Wal-Mart incubator’s VR gala, Innov8, which the company says culminated in a proof of concept VR experience for how they think “millions may shop in the future.”
Finnegan says the new venture will operate in stealth with Spatialand’s Kim Cooper and Store No. 8 consultant Jeremy Welt as co-founders. The team, Finnegan says, will “develop and explore new products and uses of VR through immersive retail environments that can be incorporated by all facets of Walmart, online and offline.”
Kim Cooper is a two-time Emmy nominee and under her leadership, Spatialand’s VR platform has created projects for Oculus, Intel, Reebok and Linkin Park.
Jeremy Welt, a VR strategy and product advisor, helped launch YouTube’s first commercial deal to working on the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Maker Studios. He has also been a consultant for 360 video app company Splash and Mindshow, the VR movie creator tool.
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