VCs commit $60m to US VR firm for Asia push

The round was led by Blue Pool Capital, a Hong Kong-based firm that manages investments for clients including Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, chairman and vice chairman respectively of Alibaba Group. Singapore’s EDBI also took part, along with Huayi Media, Foxconn Technology Group and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Qualcomm Ventures.

Lytro plans to partner with its new investors to develop its strategy for tackling the Asia market, particularly China, which it expects to become one of the biggest markets for VR and cinematic content within the next five years. The new capital will be used to continue development on its professional-grade digital camera systems using the company’s proprietary Light Field imaging platform.

Light Field uses an array of cameras to capture three-dimensional images with higher resolution and color depth than traditional digital camera systems can provide. Upon its founding in 2006, Lytro focused on the consumer market, but its products struggled to catch on due to the rise of smart phones and changing customer tastes. The company shifted to the professional market in 2015 amid growing interest in its products from VR content developers and film studios.

Its primary products now are 360-degree 3-D camera system Immerge and Cinema, aimed at traditional 2-D and 3-D film productions.

“The VR market is still in its infancy and will take a number of years to reach mainstream adoption. However, the early momentum is palpable and content creators are clamoring for a set of tools and enabling experiences built from the ground up for this new medium,” Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal told AVCJ. “We believe that Lytro has the opportunity to be the company that defines the production pipeline, technologies and quality standards for an entire next generation of content.”

PE and strategic investors have shown increased interest in VR and augmented reality (AR) start-ups globally, and a number of Chinese investors have targeted the US. Activity in the last year includes an $80 million Series B round for live VR content provider NextVR with participation by CMC Holdings and CITIC Guoan and a $50 million round for AR hardware and software developer Meta from Tencent Holdings, Lenovo and Banyan Capital.

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• Topics
• North America
• Greater China
• Southeast Asia
• Technology
• Media
• Expansion
• USA
• China
• Singapore
• EDBI
• Foxconn Technology Group
• Qualcomm Ventures