Today HTC has been revealing further details on its HTC Vive X Accelerator program, adding a new location in China – Shenzhen – a city located in the south of the country that’ll be focused on hardware related projects.
It was last week that the company confirmed the first batch of 33 startups, all coming from a pool of approximately 1,200 global applications. Ranging from virtual reality (VR) content/applications, to enabling technologies, as well as innovative hardware and services, the teams will be spread amongst the four Vive X locations – San Francisco (US), Beijing (China) and Taipei (Taiwan), with the newly announced Shenzhen location, taking on more hardware related projects.
“We are extremely excited about the breadth and quality of the Vive X Batch-1 companies. The selected VR startups’ offerings cover a wide range of content, services, accessories and even core VR technologies. These companies represent the best and brightest of a new generation of startups that will soon be changing the world we live in and the way we interact with each other.” Alvin W. Graylin, China Regional President of HTC VR said, “As the leader in the VR industry, HTC is committed to supporting a vibrant VR ecosystem. The Vive X Accelerators and the VRVCA are integral parts of our vision for enabling and rewarding true innovation amongst the VR startup community.”
Unveiled back in April 2016, the Vive X Accelerator program was accompanied by a $100 million USD investment fund from HTC. This sought to not only drive content creation but also support teams building core VR technologies such as UI/UX, mobile tracking and content creation tools.
Over the next four months, this first batch of teams will be challenged to produce marketable products/content which will be presented to potential investors upon their graduation. And for development teams still interested in joining the next Vive X batch, applications will begin in November 2016.
Vive X plans to expand to more locations in Asia Pacific and Europe during 2017, and when it does VRFocus will bring you the latest details.
