Back in April we reported that HTC had launched a new virtual reality accelerator named Vive X. Today, the first companies accepted into that program have been revealed.
The Vive X site has been updated with the first 22 groups to take advantage of the $100 million scheme. A final company was also named in the press release, bringing the total to 23, and a further 10 companies in stealth mode were also selected. Being a member of Vive X will give these teams access to some major new opportunities like investment from venture capital firms, expert advice on development and mentorship from experienced VR professionals, and some other networking and support benefits. We’ve listed the companies below, each of which will be joining the accelerator in either Beijing, San Francisco, Taipei or the newly announced Shenzhen location.
7D-Vision: A Chinese company working on computer vision, graphics, processing and human-computer interaction.
Action Bunker VR: The creators of Taiwan’s first multiplayer, warehouse-sized Virtual Entertainment Center with a first-person shooter (FPS) VR experience.
Apmetrix: An analytics company offering specialized tools for VR and other companies. Also offers tracking of behavioral and emotional data for new technologies.
AppMagics: A young startup working on mixed reality (MR) apps for multiple scenarios.
Augmented Intelligence: A company specializing in medical applications for VR, trying to amplify and enhance the field to allow for better treatment.
Breqlabs: The company behind a pair of hand-tracked glove controllers which offer force feedback.
CLEVR: A social network that aims to reduce the fragmentation between VR and AR technologies and create new types of content in the process.
Directive Games: A studio working on high quality multiplayer offerings for VR and mobile titles.
Glowstick Games: The developers of Dark Deception and Dead Acre are building VR games.
Immersv: A new VR advertising platform designed to increase discovery and revenue for other developers.
Kaliedoscope: A group of artists and creators from across the globe making original content such as VR films.
LumiereVR: A studio that wants to make VR cinematography mainstream with the help of engineers, filmmakers, and researchers.
Metal Cat: A Beijing-based team working on artistic and technical VR games.
ObEN: An LA-based studio that is getting virtual characters to speak or sing in any voice in any language within just a few minutes.
Omnigames: A developer formed from Omescape, working on escape room experiences. Previously worked on Picturesque.
RockVR: A company building community tools to help people share their VR experiences.
Shortfuse: A young developer and subsidiary of ConductorVR, working on its first game, ConvictVR.
Surreal: A social VR platform in which players meet up with friends online. Other developers can add content too.
Teemew: A new VR collaboration tool that allows people to work together when not in the same physical environment.
Wondergate: A VR-first reality capture technology company that prioritizes the content people view within headsets.
EdSenses: A group of experts from the film and television CG industries coming together to bring their knowledge to the gaming scene.
Fishbowl VR: Essential Q&A for VR, Fishbowl offers testing for new products to help companies make the best experiences.
The Metaverse Channel: Ambitiously planning to virtually resurrect the minds of the past for help educate people today.
In addition to the newly announced members of the accelerator program, HTC also announced that the VRVCA – a massive venture capital alliance dedicated to investing in virtual and augmented reality companies – has also expanded it’s membership, adding 8 new venture firms raising the total amount of deployable capital to $12 billion. The VRVCA represents the single largest conglomerate of venture capital available to VR and AR startups. The group of 36 firms will meet multiple times a year to discuss batches of potential startups to invest in, and will invest as a whole in the ones they deem most worthy.
Startups interested in investment can apply via the VRVCA’s website.
