XR industry news & highlights for October 2021

Monthly Spatial

The Monthly blog post below highlights

the news we captured in the previous month.

The AWE Weekly Spatial is a newsletter that curates the most exciting news within the XR industry each week. If you are not yet subscribed or wish to stay up to date with the VR/AR/MR happenings make sure to subscribe to the Weekly Spatial for the most relevant news delivered to your inbox every Friday.

October 2021 Highlights

Platforms & Tools

Snap Launches Global Creative Studio to Create AR Ads

Hardware

Enterprise

Events

Spatial Insights

Can Niantic Unlock the Real-World Metaverse? (ARInsider)

This company's new AR Lab could mainstream AR Marketing. (ARInsider)

Can This Tech Giant’s New AR Creative Studio Jumpstart Immersive Marketing? (ARInsider)

This gaming giant’s latest tech could unlock geospatial XR. (ARInsider)

XR Market

Enterprise

Lynx R-1 Mixed Reality Standalone Reaches Kickstarter Goal in First 15 Hours. (Road to VR)
Chicken Waffle Launches XR Creator Fund For Indie Devs. (VRScout)
Chimeras Play-to-Earn Metaverse Raised Over $2 Million. (globenewswire.com)

Platforms & Tools

Niantic Acquires Hoss to Improve the Lightship Developer Experience. (VentureBeat)
Echo3D Raises $4M for Cloud Authoring of 3D, AR, and VR Content. (VentureBeat)
Twitter Invests in Avatar Startup Facemoji. (TechCrunch)
Unofficial Quest App Store 'SideQuest' Raises $3M Seed Investment
Praxis Labs Raises $15.5M in Series A Financing Round. (Auganix)
Admix Raises $25m Towards Metaverse Ad Solutions. (VRFocus)

Hardware

Valve Index is Now the Second Most Used VR Headset on Steam. (Road to VR)

Training, Gaming & Entertainment

Sky Mavis Raises $152M at Nearly $3B Valuation for Axie Infinity Play-To-Earn NFT Game. (Yahoo)
Media Fusion Awarded $300K Contract to Develop Augmented Reality App Experience for US National Park Service. (Auganix)

Launches & Announcements

Enterprise

CEO Of Ready Player Me Talks VR Avatars And The Metaverse. (VRScout)
TeamViewer Partners with Google Cloud to Deliver Enterprise AR on Google Glass. (Auganix)
Cavrnus and The GRID Factory Announce Collaboration to Deliver Cloud-Based XR Solutions for Enterprise. (Auganix)
Taqtile Partners with Nokia to Deliver AR-Enabled Work Instruction Platform in MX Industrial Edge Suite. (Auganix)
HaptX Announces Partnership with Haption to Integrate Their Haptic Technologies. (Auganix)
DPVR Announced Strategic Partnership with Brazilian XR Retailer Beenoculus. (Auganix)

Hardware

Rokid Partners With Imint On X-Craft Enterprise AR Headband. (ARPost)
Facebook Teases VR Headset Prototypes Following Vive Flow Leak. (Road to VR)
SenseGlove Begins Worldwide Shipping of Its ‘Nova’ Haptic Force-Feedback Gloves for Professional VR/AR Training and Research. (Auganix)
ThirdEye Adds Go VR Immersive as Reseller for Its X2 Mixed Reality Glasses in Asia-Pacific Region. (Auganix)
Somnium Space Unveils Plans to Build its Own Standalone Headset. (VRFocus)
Pimax 12K VR Headset Announced With Release Date, Price, Specs. (Road to VR)
SteamVR Adds Tundra Tracker Support, Shipments Expected in November. (Road to VR)
Somnium Space Expands Metaverse Ambitions With Teslasuit Investment. (VRFocus)

Software

Blippar Releases Free Beta Of WebAR SDK. (ARPost)
VMWare and Magic Leap Announce Collaboration that Includes Support of Workspace ONE XR Hub on Magic Leap 2. (Auganix)
Light Field Lab Unveils Modular Holographic Video Wall. (VRScout)
Snap Inc. and Google Partner to Bring New “Quick Tap to Snap” Feature for Snapchat to Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro Phones. (Auganix)
Facebook Messenger is Adding New AR Experiences for Group Video Calls. (Auganix)
HP Launches Updated Reverb G2 with Better Tracking and Eye-Relief. (Road to VR)
Ultraleap Releases Gemini Hand-Tracking Update, VR Interface Demo. (Road to VR)
Oculus Sideloading Requires Phone Number Or Card Details. (UploadVR)

Platforms & Tools

VMware Integrates NVIDIA’s CloudXR Into its Collab Platform. (VRFocus)
8i and 8th Wall Showcase Integrated Solution for Live Streaming Holograms in WebAR. (Auganix)
Roblox Shows New Bits of the Metaverse to Its Developers. (VentureBeat)
SaaS-based Film Studio, AI Studios Provides Avatar 'Actors' to Make Instant Videos. (VentureBeat)
Cisco Launches Webex Hologram, An Augmented Reality Meeting Solution. (Yahoo)
XR Association And XR Access Launch XRAccessibility GitHub Site. (ARPost)

Education

DPVR Announces Collaboration with Veative to Provide Virtual Reality Educational Solutions to STEM Students. (Auganix)
Ohio University Launches Virtual Reality And Game Development Major. (ARPost)

Training, Gaming & Entertainment

3D Experience Launched For Limited Edition Charli Cohen x Pokémon Collection. (ar.rocks)
Yahoo Creative Studios, Aircards and Optus Transform WAFL Fans Into Augmented Reality Avatars At The Grand Final At Optus Stadium. (ar.rocks)
Aero Simulation, Inc. Awarded USAF Contract to Provide ‘Live, Virtual, Constructive’ Solutions to Air Education and Training Command. (Auganix.org)
You Can Now Wear New Balance Shoes In VR. (VRScout)
Boston Fashion Week Launches 60 AR Designs Across Boston. (VRScout)
Estee Lauder Develops AR Snapchat Filter For Fragrance Collection. (ar.rocks)
Snap Uses Volumetric Video Technology for Halloween Kills AR Lens. (adweek)
Vudu App Brings 200K Movies & TV Shows To Oculus Quest. (VRScout)
SAP, JFF Labs, And Talespin Launch Skill Immersion Lab For Immersive Learning Soft Skills. (ARPost)
Bank Of America Turns To VR For Soft Skills Training. (VRScout)
NASA Debuts AR Graphic Novel At New York Comic-Con. (VRScout)
Moth+Flame Partners with National Urban League to Develop Virtual Reality Diversity Training Programs. (Auganix)
'Squid Game' Snapchat Lenses Bring The Terrifying Show To Life In AR. (VRScout)
8 Augmented Reality Trends In 2021. (ARPost)
Seattle Kraken Launch Immersive WebXR Experience For Fans. (ar.rocks)
Facebook Announced that It Is Developing VR Version of GTA: San Andreas for Oculus Quest. (Auganix)
Disney, Google, Snap, Verizon Join Forces on The Avengers AR Experience. (Adweek)

Marketing & Advertising

J.P. Morgan Launches Augmented Reality Tool for Advisers. (investmentnews)
ImagineAR Releases Updated SDK for Its Augmented Reality Mobile Campaign Platform for Brands. (Auganix)
KDDI, Deutsche Telekom, MobiledgeX, Sturfee and Mawari Demonstrate Next Generation AR Mobile App Experience in Alignment with GSMA TEC Initiative. (Future Networks)

Healthcare