ViveX Adds 7 New Enterprise VR Startups to the Collective

ViveX started as a venture capital arm of HTC Vive, to encourage the growth of applications and use cases for virtual reality (VR). They invest in every area of VR, including gaming, but they have seen the most growth in enterprise applications. To this point, ViveX announced the addition of seven new startups that focus on enterprise.

ViveX was started in 2016 with a USD 100 million-dollar fund. One of their startups, Mindesk, was acquired by an Australian software company called Vection. The ViveX companies raised USD 60 million collectively in 2019, including a healthcare imaging company called Proprio, and Talespin, whose employee layoff training gained some steam in mainstream media.

1. Talespin began in 2017 by building VR training applications to help perform home damage assessments. They built the Runway platform for skills, training, and several XR-based learning modules. They received USD 15 million in funding to build more training applications earlier in 2020.
2. Imaged Reality built a VR application for the oil industry called 3DGAIA that allows users to analyze terrain data gathered by aerial survey drones in 3D.
3. ORamaVR builds virtual reality simulations for medical education purposes. The company can customize training for different areas of medicine, such as dental or hip operations, and train users in emergency trauma scenarios.
4. 3Data built an application that allows IT and cybersecurity users to visualize a wide virtual panorama with multiple data streams flowing across it. They can see different alerts, logs and IoT sensor data to manage threats and coordinate defenses against digital attacks.
5. BodySwaps is a startup hellbent on creating useful educational applications for enterprise companies, schools and training organizations. Their goal is to hasten improved operational and managerial behavior and improve the overall level of interpersonal interactions.
6. Maze Theory is an entertainment startup that builds VR versions of shows like Engram, Peaky Blinders and Doctor Who.
7. Vantage Point builds training programs in VR to give employees a fun medium to explore social science programs intended to improve behavior and awareness of various issues surrounding the workplace.

Bottom Line

China-based HTC Vive has been surprisingly active during the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing a product called OSync early last month. OSync is a few things rolled into one as a VR-based teleconferencing software with cloud service integration. Users can put on an HTC Vive, communicate with other HTC Vive users, and show them PDFs, videos, and PowerPoint presentations while using Microsoft OneDrive with an avatar of their choosing.

ViveX will continue to grow its portfolio of startups that will advance the cause of VR for enterprise in many new and sometimes surprising ways. VR and AR (augmented reality) startups, including Magic Leap, have turned toward enterprise as the entertainment market ebbs and flows in overall interest.