The VR (virtual reality) market size is rapidly expanding. How to utilize technology and content that continues to evolve

Total funding for VR companies as a whole has grown at an average annual rate of about 65% over the past 3 years

※Reference: The Illustrated Guide to the VR Investment Landscape [Infographic] — UPLOAD VR

The graph above shows the total amount of funds raised by “VR companies” since 2010. In particular, since 2012, funds invested in the VR (virtual reality) market have exploded. Looking at the past 10 years, the number of VR companies has increased by about 15 times. There are various themes and uses of VR, but the following is a ranking of the total amount of funds raised by VR companies as of 2015/7.

1st place OCULUS $94 million

Development of head-mounted displays (HMD) “Oculus Rift” and “Gear VR” (in collaboration with Samsung). Currently, the developer model “DK2” is being sold, and the retail version “Oculus Rift” is scheduled to be released in 2016. It was acquired by Facebook for 2 billion dollars in 2014.

2nd place Matterport 56 million dollars

We are developing technology to introduce captured 3D spaces into VR, AR, and the web. A demo application compatible with Gear VR to walk around the model room in VR space is being released.

3rd place Razer 50 million dollars

Currently, we are pre-releasing a platform where all hardware and software called OSVR (Open Source Virtual Rarity) is open source.

4th LEAP Motion $44.1 million

“Leap Motion,” which detects human hands and reflects them in VR space, was released. This made it possible to interfere with the VR space with my own “hands.” We are also developing our own HMD with a wide viewing angle.

5th CCP Games $36 million

We are developing Oculus Rift for PC, Project Morpheus for PS4, and Space STG “EVE: Valkyrie,” which is compatible with both hardware.

6th place JAUNT 35 million dollars

We are producing live-action VR content that allows you to experience 360-degree images, and developing the “NEO,” a camera dedicated to stereoscopic vision. JAUNT recently received a new investment from Disney.

7th place zSpace $27 million

Development of a tablet terminal where images pop out of a display and can be viewed as 3D models in reality by using 3D glasses. It has also been applied in the fields of health care and education.

8th IMPROBABLE $22 million

Development of virtual environments that simulate the world. By using this, it is possible to simulate the actions and interactions of millions of people.

9th Linden Lab $19 million

The developer and operator of the MMO metaverse game “Second Life,” which began service in 2003. It has become clear that they are building a metaverse utilizing VR, which will be the next work.

9th place NIVAL VR 18 million dollars

We have developed an application for educational purposes that can see the microscopic world of the brain, cells, etc. on VR. You can visually understand their mechanisms, etc.

※Reference: The Illustrated Guide to the VR Investment Landscape [Infographic] — UPLOAD VR

Last year, with “Oculus,” which became a hot topic due to being acquired by Facebook, the top 10 companies alone raised a total of 400 million dollars, or close to 40 billion yen. Also, if you look at the products and services developed by these 10 companies, you can see that the keyword VR (virtual reality) has penetrated various devices, technologies, and applications, and is expanding its range. This trend makes us expect that even more funding will spread to more VR companies in the future. It was only a few years ago that the VR (virtual reality) world began to catch fire. Considering the breadth of companies that have raised funds over the past few years, it may be just in the future that the VR market will achieve full-scale growth.

The ratio of capital investment destinations and the future of VR (virtual reality) as seen by application

The graph above shows the investment destinations of the funds introduced in the previous section by product or service of that company. The most common investment is for HMD (head-mounted display) represented by “Oculus.” The next most common investment is for content production (content publisher) such as games. Immersive content browsing using HMD (head-mounted display) is expected to continue to be the royal road of VR. Also, it seems that new content with various tastes will be introduced one after another.

The following graph shows the investment funds mentioned earlier by VR application. The game and entertainment sector accounts for an overwhelmingly large share. What is expected from VR (virtual reality) may be a step new level of expression and content experience, especially in this “game entertainment.” Meanwhile, investment amounts are steadily increasing in fields such as industry, education, and medical care. It seems that the industry related to “games and entertainment” is not the only industry that is looking forward to a new world where VR will be realized.

Recently, VR is likely to develop mainly in areas that provide “content itself,” such as games, events, and attractions. Also, the number of cases where companies develop games and events utilizing VR as part of their marketing activities is increasing, and what PANOPLAZA wants to help is VR (virtual reality) in “business.”

YouTube was the first to support 360-degree VR videos in 2015/3, and Facebook began supporting it in September. The photo-sharing SNS “Flickr” also announced the introduction of 360-degree VR. VR, especially 360-degree VR videos that utilize live action images, can now be treated as more familiar content. In line with the evolution of 360-degree cameras, it is expected that the number of contents for 360-degree VR videos will explode in the future. Under such circumstances, VR for companies should become a powerful weapon in their marketing and promotion.

New initiatives carried out in the field of games and entertainment, and evolving technologies and ideas will revitalize the VR (virtual reality) market as a whole, and applications will expand in various fields. Along with that, the market size will also increase, and new initiatives will be carried out. I think VR is now standing at the starting point of such a good cycle.