The AR Roundup: November 2017

Here’s what you missed in the AR+VR space for the month of November 2017

Numbers

• 217 AR+VR companies have raised funding rounds this year, bringing in $2.1 billion ~Crunchbase
• AR will be on “hundreds of millions” of Android devices by the end of next year ~ Google
• VR headset shipments moved past the 1M mark in a single quarter for the first time ~ Canalys
• PSVR was the clear winner in cQ3/2017 with 490K versus Rift 210K and HTC 160K ~ Canalys
• Worldwide AR/VR revenue estimated to reach $13.9 billion in 2017, an increase of 130.5% over $6.1 billion spend in 2016 ~ IDC
• 53% of mid-sized companies have AR, VR pilot projects underway ~ Deloitte

Money

Big news

• Apple acquired Montreal-based Vrvana for $30M
• Snap reported $443.2M dollar loss including $43 hit from unsold Spectacles
• HTC invests in 26 AR/VR startups including virtual humans platform Quantum Capture
• Williams-Sonoma buys 3D imaging and AR startup, Outward for $112M

Platforms & Tools

• Pixvana raises $14M for its cloud-based MR storytelling platform
• GridRaster raises $2M for AR/VR cloud rendering solution

Hardware

• Pimax “8K” surpassed Rift as Top VR headset, $2.45M
• EEG company InteraXon announced $11.6M Series B-1
• Lightform raises $5M to turn old projectors into AR machines

AR+VR Content

• Torch Surgery raises $20M for its holographic surgery solution
• AR Treasure Hunt game, Snatch, raises $5.8M
• Niantic raises $200M ahead of Harry Potter game

News

Hardware

• HTC announces Vive Focus standalone VR headset with “world-scale” tracking
• Microsoft HoloLens now for sale in 29 new European markets (total of 39 now) and gets safety certification for enterprise use
• DAQRI ships AR smart glasses powered by its VOS OS at a cost of $4,995
• Quanta Computer (manufacturing partner of Apple) reaches licensing agreement with Lumus to produce AR lenses

Software

• Google launches AR & VR object library, Poly including an API for AR/VR assets in Unity and Unreal
• Amazon launches AR & VR developer tool Sumerian
• Google launches a spatial audio kit, Resonance Audio
• Niantic announces Harry Potter Go coming in 2018 and major Ingress update
• Rift 2.0 beta to be released later this week incl. Dash (new user interface for Touch controllers) & redesigned home

Shut downs

• Augmented audio startup, Doppler Labs, shuts down after raising $50M

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