AR & VR startups are coming in Hot! 🔥 Into the Metaverse we Go! 🥽
Part One is all about What We Know in our two-part trend report.
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ICYMI in the last 10 weeks we covered:
What happens when Grocery, Ghost Kitchens, and Delivery collide?!!
$2B dropped into creator startups in the 1st 6 months of '21 alone!
#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has 3.3 Billion views and counting!
NCAA Athletes start printing NIL (Name Image Likeness) Dollars!
Twisting Lux Brands + Depop + Gen Z in your favor!
TikTok goes after Fox, CNN, and MSNBC?!!
Linkedin dropped the ball! Link-in-Bio is coming in hot!
Social Casino SMS Text Gaming is FIRE!
THIS WEEK’S DOPE NEW STARTUP IDEA COVERS:
* AR + VR + Metaverse 🔥
WHAT WE KNOW:
* The Market Indicators & Behavioral Consumer Trends we've identified.
>> [ Niantic jumps on AR spatial startup 6D.ai! ]
Niantic squares up against Apple and Facebook with acquisition of AR startup 6D.ai
- thanks lucas! https://twitter.com/lucasmtny
Even as the pandemic forces Niantic to shift the way its outdoor-friendly titles are played, the gaming company is charging ahead with its efforts to build out an augmented reality platform which allows users to interact with the real world.
Today, the studio behind Pokémon Go announced that it has acquired 6D.ai, a promising SF-based augmented reality startup focused on building software that allowed smartphone cameras to rapidly detect the 3D layouts of spaces around them.
Niantic’s bread-and-butter is mobile games, specifically Pokémon Go, but the company has raised nearly a half-billion dollars to do something more, building out a developer platform for augmented reality meant to rival what has been created by Facebook and Apple.
>> [ TikTok picks up VR headset maker Pico! ]
TikTok owner ByteDance takes first step into virtual reality with latest acquisition
- thanks arjun! https://twitter.com/@ArjunKharpal
TikTok owner ByteDance has made its first foray into virtual reality (VR) through the acquisition of a start-up called Pico.
Beijing-headquartered ByteDance did not disclose the size of the deal but said in a statement that Pico’s “comprehensive suite of software and hardware technologies, as well as the talent and deep expertise of the team, will support both our entry to the VR space and long-term investment in this emerging field.”
Pico was the third-largest virtual reality headset maker globally in the first quarter of 2021, with shipments growing 44.7% year-on-year, according to IDC.
>> [ Apple acquires VR conferencing software co. Spaces! ]
Apple confirms acquisition of VR startup Spaces
- thanks ina! https://www.twitter.com/inafried
Apple is acquiring Spaces, a virtual reality firm that recently pivoted from creating theme park attractions to bringing traditional video conferencing software to VR headsets.
Spaces shifted its energy and created software that uses VR headsets to allow people to have more immersive experiences with Zoom and other video conferencing services.
Why it matters: Apple has shown continued interest in both virtual and augmented reality and has been reportedly testing headsets internally, but it has yet to release such a product publicly.
>> [ it’s a Mercedes and Microsoft “VR love story” in the making! ]
Mercedes intros mixed reality for techs
- thanks adam! https://twitter.com/SirAdamMalik
Mercedes-Benz Virtual Remote Support is powered by Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist.
With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, the remote technical specialists work with the tech in the shop in an immersive mixed reality environment and can share intricate 3D images and holograms, see where changes need to be made, annotate the visual information, add documents and insert instructions to highlight which areas to focus on.
“It’s like having the right expert over your shoulder the minute you need them. Since deploying this technology in July, we are getting cars back to the owners — diagnosed, fixed, and ready to roll — in a fraction of the time,” he said.
THE DOPE IDEA & THE BRAND EXECUTION:
* Taking the idea and amplifying that into tactical action.
See you next week for the second half of our two-part report.
We’ll discuss on how to position ourselves as a new player in the AR + VR + Metaverse 🔥 space — and get into the development of the Brand IP, securing a legit Domain Name, then making it Internet LIVE.