Store No 8, the tech incubator established by Walmart, has made its first acquisition in the world of VR.
The organization today announced that it has acquired VR content studio, Spatialand, for an undisclosed sum. You may have heard of this studio before; last year they worked with Linkin Park to film their Chester Bennington memorial concert in 360 degrees and, prior to Bennington’s death, created a VR experience to kick off the band’s final tour.
Spatialand has also worked with Store No 8 before, last year creating a VR gala, Innov8 (which we reported on), as a proof of concept VR experience for the future of shopping.
Under the Store No 8 banner Spatialand will form what the company calls the foundation for its next portfolio company, which will operate in stealth mode for now, headed up by Store No 8 Co-Founder and Principal, Katie Finnegan. Kim Cooper, Spatialand’s co-founder and CEO, and Jeremy Welt, Chief Product Officer at Store No 8 will also serve as co-founders.
In a prepared statement, Finnegan explained that the team will “develop and explore new products and uses of VR through immersive retail environments that can be incorporated by all facets of Walmart, online and offline.”
Walmart is no stranger to VR itself. Last year we reported that the US retailing giant had started to incorporate VR training into its recruitment programme to help staff better deal with customers.
Expect to see new solutions for retail-based VR emerge from this deal in the coming months and years, then.
