Despite Zuckerberg & Co. spending billions of dollars on virtual reality tech every fiscal quarter, the wider VR startup ecosystem has been having a tough few years coming down from the highs of 2016, when investors dumped money into the sector expecting Oculus-sized returns only to see most of their investments slowly wilt away.<\/p>\n
This makes it fairly notable news whenever a big institutional investor makes a bet in a VR startup these days even just a seed round. Earlier this week I sat down with the folks at basketball virtual reality app Gym Class, which just closed an $8 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz. Other backers include Founders, Inc., Todd and Rahuls Angel Fund and Balaji Srinivasan.<\/p>\n
Gym Class is what they call a VR pure-play the experience relies on the hardware, and the mechanics only make sense in VR. So, in theory, a bet in the company isnt just a bet on the ability of the team, but the near-term viability of the space theyre operating in. Its a safer bet in a world where Meta and Apple are investing heavily in the sector, but still risky given uncertainty around the timing of further headset adoption.<\/p>\n
Even among other VR titles, the game itself is early Gym Class isnt even available in Metas Quest Store yet. To date, the nearly 1 million downloads of the free app have taken place on Metas App Lab storefront, a hub for games that show early promise but may have a good deal of development ahead of them before theyre ready for prime time. So far, Gym Class has gotten quite a bit of attention before even landing on the official Quest store largely due to TikTok shares of gameplay footage.<\/p>\n
Image Credits: Gym Class<\/p>\n
Gym Classs product head Paul Katsen tells TechCrunch that the startup is thinking about the experience as more of a social hub than a simple game, one that allows people to hop into a virtual space and bond over the sport and culture around basketball. Gym Class is tightly focused on basketball for the time being, the company says, and doesnt have any near-term plans to build out a wider offering of sports experiences.<\/p>\n
The companys upcoming official Quest Store launch is a big moment for the company, but cements just how critical Metas platform remains for any and all virtual reality developers. Late last month, Meta made a stir by announcing a price increase of their long-available Quest 2 headset, citing a need to recoup investment in the low-margin device.<\/p>\n
If you become reliant on these platforms for distribution, you dont build your own distribution platform, Katsen says, When we see prices are going up by $100, yeah thats a bummer, but still the trajectory at which its growing its outselling consoles.<\/p>\n
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YC and a16z back virtual reality basketball app Gym Class - TechCrunch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite Zuckerberg & Co. spending billions of dollars on virtual reality tech every fiscal quarter, the wider VR startup ecosystem has been having a tough few years coming down from the highs of 2016, when investors dumped money into the sector expecting Oculus-sized returns only to see most of their investments slowly wilt away Continue reading