The people behind one of VR’s largest conferences just raised $6 million to continue work on “accessible” VR story creation software.
Visionary VR was founded in 2014 with VRLA co-founders Jonnie Ross, Adam Levin, and Cosmo Scharf teaming up with visual effects veteran Gil Baron and game designer Luke Patterson. VRLA held its first meeting shortly after Oculus was acquired by Facebook in 2014. It has grown into an enormous event held at the Los Angeles Convention Center .
Visionary VR will use the money to grow a team of VR designers and engineers to build a commercial version of their in-VR creation software. Scharf said the Visionary team is currently 15 people “and growing quickly.”
“Today, only expert-level developers can create VR stories,” said Gil Baron, CEO of Visionary VR, in a prepared statement. “We’re going to change that.”
Scharf declined to detail more about the software they’re working on. He said VRLA would continue to grow alongside Visionary. The next expo is on Aug. 5-6 in West Hall B of the LA Convention Center. Tickets go on sale April 7.
Previously backed by Boost VC, the Series A round was led by DFJ Ventures with The Venture Reality Fund, BDMI, GC VR Gaming Tracker Fund (Greycroft Partners), Vayner/RSE, and End Cue participating in the round. Individual investors include Walter Kortschak, Douglas Purdy, Lee Rierson, Carl Rosendale, Ethan Beard, Jeff Marx, and Anamitra Banerj. DFJ partner Bubba Murarka will join Visionary VR’s board of directors.
