Asian investors back $80m global expansion for NextVR
NextVR, a US-based start-up developing live streaming content for virtual reality (VR), has raised an $80 million Series B round, mostly from investors in Asia.
The Asia-based participants in the round are CMC Holdings - a vehicle set up by PE firm CMC Capital Partners - CITIC Guoan, SoftBank, NetEase and Founder H Fund. All of the investors from NextVR's Series A also re-upped, including Formation Group, a VC firm founded last year by Formation 8 co-founder Brian Koo to provide deep support to a small group of Asia-focused technology companies. The company will use the new capital to support its global expansion and development of its VR platform.
Launched in 2009, NextVR aims to provide live entertainment, such as concerts and sporting events, to audiences worldwide through VR experiences. It already partners with major US sports organizations such as the PGA, NASCAR, and the Kentucky Derby, and recently announced a tie-up with international concert organizer Live Nation.
NextVR concentrates on streamlining the capture, transmission and display of VR material, aiming to make high-resolution, immersive content available through standard home and mobile internet connections. At present it is only available through an app on Samsung's Gear VR headset; other popular VR platforms, such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, are not supported.
"We trust in the future of live experiences in VR and NextVR has proven it is the company that will deliver on that promise," said Sun Lu, president of CITIC Guoan, a unit of conglomerate CITIC Group, in a statement. "We are making an investment in NextVR because we believe the company's global platform for live VR will win the hearts and minds of users everywhere."
This is the latest investment by CMC in a US VR company; the firm took part last year in a $65 million round for VR content creator Jaunt, along with TPG Growth and the Walt Disney Company. Interest in both VR and augmented reality (AR) technology and content has grown rapidly in recent years, with the number of deals in this space for Asian start-ups roughly doubling every year since 2013.
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