2015 was a rollercoaster year for virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). From the announcement of the HTC Vive at the beginning to the first consumer launch of the Samsung Gear VR head-mounted display (HMD) in November. Then there was all the apps, videogames, 360-degree videos and more released by developers and production studios to compliment what hardware there was available. All this takes investment and now tech advisor Digi-Capital has released its new Augmented/Virtual Reality Report 2016 highlighting the industry captured nearly $700 million USD of investments in AR/VR in 2015.
The report shows that the industry has seen 6 straight quarters of growth, with $686 million USD in investments in 2015. As Tim Merel Founder/CEO of Eyetouch Reality and Digi-Capital states: “The cash has been flowing into sectors where investors see both short and long term opportunities, including AR/VR video, games, solutions / services and both AR and VR head mounted displays.”
Merel goes on to say: “What is surprising is that AR/VR investments between 2011 and 2015 have returned 128% of all the money invested already (although a huge chunk of that was Facebook/Oculus). We’re seeing a high level of deal flow in the market, so there could be some chunky acquisitions this year as major players try to leapfrog the competition.”
And this year could be even bigger as HMDs from the likes of Oculus VR, HTC/Valve and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) due to hit the shelves over the course of 2016. Many are predicting massive growth with expectations up to £120 Billion USD by 2020, investors are going to be keeping a close eye on this developing market.
VRFocus will continue to follow all the latest VR and AR news and trends, reporting back with the latest updates.
-END-
The post Digi-Capital AR/VR Report 2016 Highlights $700m Investment appeared first on VRFocus.
