7 AR & VR Hong Kong Startups You Should Know

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WHub

5 min readOct 5, 2019

The AR/VR industry has gained momentum over the last couple of years thanks to gaming and R&D. Moreover, 30% of spending on new technologies in Asia is going into the AR/VR field.

In the last couple of years, Hong Kong has also seen a growth in emerging technologies. More and more startups are adopting AR, VR, and mixed reality as their #StartupPassion. We have compiled a list of startups who have incorporated AR/VR tech into their DNA so much so that they are beginning to define the space in Hong Kong.

JetOne

Year Founded: 2014

About: JetOne aims to develop the landscape in AR/VR through entertainment and education. The startup is the first to provide a unique, VR team building experience using real-life environments. Their solution cycle also includes consultation, creative design, technical deployment, and VR big data analytics.

Interesting News: JetOne Motion was awarded “The Caring Company 2018/19” for supporting various charities and schools in Hong Kong since its inception.(Source)

Parallax Technologies

Year Founded: 2015

About: Parallax specializes in virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D rendering to explore and enhance the future. Their work includes Apps, 360-degree productions and also an extension to IoT and GIS solutions.

Interesting News: Parallax Technologies was voted as winners in the 2nd round of the MIPIM Asia Startup Competition, the first-ever global real estate and urban management startup competition. (Source)

Sandbox VR

Year Founded: 2017

About: Sandbox VR (Sandbox - Your Neighborhood Holodeck) is the first VR escape room experience. The startup uses VR technology to create “a new medium that is the closest thing to the Star Trek holodeck that exists.” They use patented software solutions along with cutting-edge gear to provide a free-roaming, multiplayer co-op, room-scale virtual reality experience. Sandbox VR is currently live in 6 locations and expanding.

Interesting News: Sandbox VR raised US$68 million as of January 2019 in Series A round of funding, which included Silicon Valley venture capital company, Andreessen Horowitz.

Heartmotion Media Company Limited

Year Founded: 2011

About: HeartMotion Company is a design creative studio that organizes workshops in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is focused on branding, motion graphic and visual design. The team conducts research, knowing the market and getting to the heart of a brand. They aim to combine creativity and innovation to come up with the best possible work and design.

Awethentic Studio

Year Founded: 2015

About: Awethentic Studio focuses on generating digital content and storytelling using AR and VR. They aim to cater to the luxury brands around the world and foster O2O connections between consumers and these brands. They also help their clients with data analytics to provide them with information about their target audience.

Interesting News: Awethentic Studio collaborated with TUMI to launch the TUMI x Chris Pratt campaign which was recognized with five PR Awards including Campaign of the Year 2019. (Source)

FusionLens

Year Founded: 2014

About: Fusion Lens has been engaged in developing mobile photography technologies since 2014. The company was successfully funded on the US crowdfunding platform — Indiegogo. FusionLens is a pioneer in 360 capturing for the consumer market. The team aims to develop simple solutions and add to the company philosophy “Earth isn’t flat. Photo neither.”

Interesting News: FusionLens, initially named Spincle was a TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield company in 2016. Spincle was the first mobile app to shoot 360° mini-videos without additional hardware. (Source)

SnapPop

Year Founded: 2016

About: SnapPop uses augmented reality to bring offline to online marketing to its consumers. A consumer simply has to take a “snap” of any printed marketing material and multimedia content, such as an AR game, lucky draw or a product that will “pop” up on their phones. SnapPop works as a crowdsourced image platform.

Interesting News: SnapPop was the proud recipient of the 2019 Bright Future Creative Entrepreneurship Award. (Source)

VR and AR technologies are opening up new horizons in learning. Christie’s in collaboration with Christie’s Education, is starting a conversation to expand these learnings in the AR/VR space. The Art+Tech Summit, powered by WHub, will explore the role and impact of immersive experiences through augmented, virtual, and mixed realities in every aspect of contemporary living.