Shanghai, July 29, 2016 — HTC, a pioneer in innovative smart mobile devices and virtual reality (VR) technologies, today confirmed the first batch of companies selected for the Vive X Accelerator program (www.vivex.co) , at the China International Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy 2016). This first cohort of 33 startups were the top applicants that came from a pool of approximately 1,200 applications globally. They range from compelling VR content/applications, to enabling technologies, as well as innovative hardware and services. These teams will be spread amongst the 4 Vive X locations in San Francisco, Beijing, Taipei, and the newly added Shenzhen location, which has a greater focus on hardware related projects.
"We are extremely excited about the breadth and quality of the Vive X Batch-1 companies. The selected VR startups’ offerings cover a wide range of content, services, accessories and even core VR technologies. These companies represent the best and brightest of a new generation of startups that will soon be changing the world we live in and the way we interact with each other." Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of HTC VR said, "As the leader in the VR industry, HTC is committed to supporting a vibrant VR ecosystem. The Vive X Accelerators and the VRVCA (www.vrvca.com) are integral parts of our vision for enabling and rewarding true innovation amongst the VR startup community."
The Vive X Accelerator program was launched in April this year, accompanied by a $100 million investment fund from HTC. During the application period, the program received approximately 1200 applications from over 30 countries around the world. In addition to compelling content, Vive X focused on supporting teams that are building core technologies such as innovative UI/UX, mobile tracking and content creation tools, which will help lay the foundation of the VR industry as a whole.
The 33 Batch-1 teams (including 10 unnamed stealth teams) range from a variety of specialties, such as entertainment (e.g. Action Bunker VR, 7D Vision, LumiereVR), gaming (e.g. Directive Games, Shortfuse, EdSenses, Omnigames, Metal Cat, Glowsticks Games), applications (e.g. CleVR, appMagics, Teemew, SurrealVR), UI/UX (e.g. BreqLabs), tools/technologies (e.g. RockVR, Apmetrix, Fishbowl VR, Kaleidoscope VR, Immersv, Wondergate, ObEN), education/medical (e.g. Augmented Intelligence, TheMetaverseChannel), and many of which have already made a name in the VR industry. More details will be available on the Vive X website.
“We are very pleased to become part of the Vive X Accelerator, which supports content providers to develop diversified and high quality VR content. Omnigames aims to deliver even better VR games that highlight storytelling and interactive experiences.” said Zhen Chen, Co-founder of Omnigames.
“To build the future of storytelling, LumiereVR is proud to partner with HTC as we continue building tools to support VR film studios around the world. The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art. This is the core belief that drove our team of engineers and filmmakers to create Lumi, the first filmmaking robot aimed to take VR films mainstream.” said Jenny Guo, Co-founder and CEO of LumiereVR.
“BreqLabs is extremely excited to partner with HTC to unlock the potential of interactions in VR. By combining our hand interaction and Room-Scale tracking technology with HTC's market leading experience, Breqlabs will deliver a limitless set of immersive possibilities to all VR users.” Said John Cappuccitti, Head of Business Development and Global Strategy of BreqLabs Inc.
In the following four months, the Batch-1 teams will be challenged to produce marketable products/content which will be presented to potential investors upon their graduation. The Vive X team, its mentors/advisors and the entire HTC organization will be actively supporting these amazing entrepreneurs the entire way in realizing their dreams. For teams interested in applying to Vive X Batch-2, application will open in November 2016. Vive X will look to attract more of the world’s best VR startups as it plans to expand to more locations in Asia Pacific and Europe in 2017.
HTC also announced an updated list of the Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA), a consortium of the world’s top VCs who aim at investing and supporting real innovation and accelerating growth in the VR industry globally. New on the list includes Lightspeed China Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Presence Capital, NVIDIA GPU Ventures, Shanda Group, SoftBank Ventures Korea, SOSV and ZhenFund. The total number of VRVCA members has now reached 36, with total investible capital beyond $12 billion.
For more information, please visit:
Vive X Accelerator program www.vivex.co.
Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance www.vrvca.com.
Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality system developed in partnership by HTC and Valve. Designed from the ground up for room-scale VR, Vive allows true-to-life interactions and experiences thanks to an adjustable headset displaying stunning graphics, two wireless controllers with HD haptic feedback and 360˚ absolute motion tracking. For a convenient and safe experience, Vive incorporates essential functionality from your phone and features a front facing camera that blends physical elements into the virtual world. Working in concert, this system immerses you visually, physically and emotionally in the virtual world. For more information on Vive, please visit www.vive.com.
HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC One and HTC Desire lines of smartphones. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com.
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