Intel is one of the largest and most recognizable corporations in the tech industry, supplying processors and other hardware and software for a plethora of computer manufacturers including Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and more. No company in such a prominent field can make a move without catching the eyes of the world but, even more importantly, when you’ve captured Intel’s attention you must be doing something right. Such is the case for VR startup Voke, who’s in the process of being acquired by the computing giant.
The acquisition, revealed on Intel’s newsroom, is yet another in a growing collection of moves to change the sports broadcasting industry forever.
Voke is a startup focused on providing a high-quality template for companies to produce live events and their True VR platform is their means to do so. True VR supplies an end-to-end experience available on multiple devices, integrates smoothly into existing broadcasting options, and has already been used for a few events including the NCAA March Madness tournament and India’s Kabaddi World Cup.
An acquisition like this seemed inevitable considering Intel’s involvement in events like X-Games Aspen and the recent creation of the Intel Sports division that was the result of their purchase of Replay Technologies, a company providing 3D viewing of sporting events through their freeD platform. The combination of Replay and Voke will hasten their trajectory as a pivotal company in the market catering to live-streaming events and likely put other companies with similar initiatives on alert.
More and more frequently VR is being tapped in the sports industry. NextVR is producing a full schedule of NBA games, the NFL is creating a VR film series exclusively for YouTube and Google, and Virtually Live is even digitally recreating entire events so we can step into the action via VR. The sky’s the limit for Intel, Voke, and Replay Technologies and it’s going to be interesting to see the fruits of their labor going forward.
