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An attendee wears an HTC Corp. virtual reality (VR) headset while living during the Apple World Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, USA. USA, Monday June 5, 2017.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | fake pictures
Apple has bought virtual reality company NextVR, Apple confirmed to CNBC.
The purchase is further evidence of Apple’s plans to enter virtual reality and related augmented reality technologies as a new product category, though the company has not announced firm plans or a new hardware product, apart from AR software. for iPhones.
An Apple spokesperson provided the company’s general statement when making an acquisition: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans,” the spokesperson said.
The Newport Beach, California startup previously focused on broadcasting and producing live and recorded VR events, such as sports events and concerts. The company had an agreement with the NBA to broadcast the highlights of virtual reality from the 2019 NBA Finals, for example.
NextVR had raised $ 116 million in funds and had 95 employees as of 2019, according to PitchBook data. Many of its investors were affiliated with the entertainment industry, including Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber, Comcast Ventures, and Time Warner Investments.
The NextVR website has been replaced by a home page: “NextVR is heading in a new direction. Thank you to our partners and fans around the world for the role they played in building this incredible platform for sporting, musical experiences. and virtual reality entertainment. “
Apple CEO Tim Cook has briefly discussed his thoughts on augmented and virtual reality in recent years, and the company introduced virtual reality headset support with Mac computers in 2017.
“I think when you look at AR today, you would see that there are consumer applications, there are business applications,” Cook said in January after the company reported earnings. “This is why I am so excited, you rarely have a new technology that both companies and consumers see as the key.”
Apple did not specify a price or terms for the transaction, but 9to5Mac, an Apple-focused website that first broke the news, estimates the transaction is worth $ 100 million.
