Inside the metaverse hype train at MWC 2023

Inside the metaverse hype train at MWC 2023

Metaverse hype was hanging like a multicolored fog over the Mobile World Congress (MWC) connectivity trade show in Barcelona this week. Conference organizer, the GSMA’s, program pitched attendees into a smorgasbord of metaverse-themed discussions — most of which seemed designed to generate maximum FOMO, as a parade of tech evangelists took to the stage in […]

Read more
Gemba, a corporate VR training platform used by Coca-Cola and Pfizer, raises $18M

Gemba, a corporate VR training platform used by Coca-Cola and Pfizer, raises $18M

Gemba, an enterprise-focused virtual reality (VR) training startup used by some of the world’s biggest companies, has raised $18 million in a Series A round of funding. Gemba designs and delivers so-called virtual “masterclasses” spanning subject matters such as supply chain management and lean manufacturing, working in conjunction with experts from the respective fields to deliver […]

Read more
Former Everyrealm execs sue company for sexual harassment, race discrimination

Former Everyrealm execs sue company for sexual harassment, race discrimination

Everyrealm, a metaverse real estate company that spun out of Republic’s crypto arm in February, is facing two lawsuits first filed in August from former directors at the company who allege they each faced numerous, separate instances of discrimination and harassment while working there. In addition to the company itself, multiple Everyrealm executives are also […]

Read more
Northeastern University VR lab targeted in explosive mail attack

Northeastern University VR lab targeted in explosive mail attack

A staff member at Northeastern University’s Holmes Hall was injured after opening an explosive package, the Boston Police Department reports. Holmes Hall is home to the university’s virtual reality center. Federal law enforcement sources told CNN that the package included a “rambling note” that disparaged Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the relationship between academia and […]

Read more
Varjo, an early mover in building XR headsets and software for enterprises, taps $40M

Varjo, an early mover in building XR headsets and software for enterprises, taps $40M

Applications in the metaverse often feel like more of a marketing gimmick than something that a critical mass of consumers would use, let alone pay for. But turn to the enterprise, and there appears to be a very lucrative opportunity that’s well into finding traction. Today, one of the early movers in building solutions for […]

Read more
Play now, pay later: Halliday bags $6M seed round led by a16z

Play now, pay later: Halliday bags $6M seed round led by a16z

Blockchain-based games have seen a surge in popularity, but playing them is getting expensive. Play-to-earn games like StepN require players to purchase an NFT before they can participate, while other crypto video games offer users pricey upgrades such as virtual avatars and distinctive skins or costumes. Halliday, a startup founded last November by Akshay Malhotra […]

Read more
Tinder to kill virtual currency, metaverse plans amid Match Group earnings loss; Tinder loses its CEO

Tinder to kill virtual currency, metaverse plans amid Match Group earnings loss; Tinder loses its CEO

Dating giant Match Group announced a series of changes to Tinder’s management team alongside the announcement of disappointing second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Notably, Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg will be departing the company after less than a year in the top job. Match Group is also killing Tinder’s plans to adopt new technology, like virtual currencies […]

Read more
The outlook is getting more complicated for Meta’s virtual reality dreams

The outlook is getting more complicated for Meta’s virtual reality dreams

For an industry that rarely has major news anymore, this was an awfully big week for virtual reality. Unsurprisingly, all of the important data points are related to the industry’s sole benefactor these days, Meta, which managed to raise the cost of entry to its VR ecosystem, find itself in a new battle with the […]

Read more
Roblox beefs up its developer tools as it looks to a future beyond games

Roblox beefs up its developer tools as it looks to a future beyond games

Roblox CTO Dan Sturman talks about how the company is building tools for developers, the challenges of building a tech stack for the masses and its foray into virtual currency.

Read more
Bored Apes founders on their plans for Otherside metaverse

Bored Apes founders on their plans for Otherside metaverse

After seemingly pulling off the strangest unicorn success story in tech, the founders of NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have an awful lot to prove with their startup Yuga‘s early beta vision of the metaverse, a gaming platform called Otherside. Few entertainment startups have had this level of community pressure riding on their […]

Read more