13 May 2019
|
Tom Emrich
AR+VR Weekly: VR Usage, AR Minecraft, and $80B Market Split
AR/VR Weekly
Catch up on the latest AR+VR highlights, funding news & launch announcements: Week of May 13
Image Source: UploadVR
Highlights
It’s been another busy week in AR+VR! In addition to keeping you up-to-date on the top AR+VR news, funding activity, and launch announcements, here are the three stories you need to know: VR usage, AR Minecraft, and the $80B market split.
IDC's latest VR survey found that the average use of VR was 6.2 hours per month with hardcore VR users reporting 16 or more hours monthly!
Meanwhile, Microsoft is teasing a new AR Minecraft game with a teaser video. We are expected to learn more about this project on May 17.
Finally, the latest report from Digi-Capital finds an $80B+ AR/VR market split between mobile AR, smart glasses and VR.
Funding News
Chinese AI start-up Megvii raises $750 million ahead of planned HK IPO (Reuters)
Chinese AR startup HiScene secures $17.5m in Series B+ round (Dealstreet Asia)
Social VR World Somnium Space Completes $1 Million Funding Round (VR Focus)
HTC Invests in 17 AR/VR Startups in Latest Vive X Accelerator Program (Road to VR)
Launch Announcements
Lenovo launches ThinkReality AR and VR headset for enterprises (Engadget)
Google's AR walking directions come to Pixel phones (The Verge)
Google is adding augmented reality to search (The Verge)
Google brings new features to Lens (TechCrunch)
Google updates ARCore with rendering, design and interactivity improvements (VentureBeat)
Google Arts & Culture releases "Weird Cuts" (TechCrunch)
Epson's new augmented reality glasses can plug into your phone (The Verge)
Chinese video streaming giant iQiyi launches $300 virtual reality headset (CNBC)
Microsoft adds Spatial to Teams (Fast Company)
Microsoft announces new Bing Maps SDK for Mixed-Reality apps (MSpoweruser)
MasterpieceVR releases Motion to rig 3D models in VR (Forbes)
Nike's new app uses AR to measure your feet to sell you sneakers that fit (The Verge)
GOAT uses AR to let you experience unreleased sneakers (Hypebeast)
Event Listings
AWE USA 2019: May 29-31 (Santa Clara, CA)
SIGGRAPH 2019: July 28-August 1 (Los Angeles, CA)
Tech Inclusion 2019: September 11-12 (San Francisco, CA)
EWTS 2019: September 17-19 (Dallas, TX)
