Market Reports
VR & Immersive Learning Industry
Be involved in the technology of the 2020s
- VR will grow fastest in Enterprise (Learning will be the large majority of growth).
- VR will grow faster than the other immersive tech (AR/XR/MR) in the short term.
- Apple, Facebook, Snapchat, Niantic have all recently acquired VR/AR companies.
- Mobile was the technology of the 2010s, VR/AR will be the technology of the 2020s.
The Market
“Immersive Learning is now one of the fastest growing segments of the $200Billion+ corporate training industry”
- Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst, JFF Labs Immersive Learning Industry Report
“Training use cases are expected to lead commercial deployments this year, with enterprises spending $2.6 billion.”
VR is still largely seen as a gaming platform, but according to IDC, commercial use cases will account for nearly half of all AR/VR spending in 2020. Commercial use cases will account for nearly half of all AR/VR spending in 2020, led by training ($2.6 billion) and industrial maintenance ($914 million) use cases.
Worldwide spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is forecast to be $18.8 billion in 2020, an increase of 78.5% over the $10.5 billion International Data Corporation (IDC) expects will be spent in 2019. The latest update to IDC's Worldwide Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending Guide also shows that worldwide spending on AR/VR products and services will continue this strong growth throughout the 2019-2023 forecast period, achieving a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.0%.
VR is leading, and Enterprise VR is fastest growing.
“The enterprise market is poised for growth. Business Insider predicts that the enterprise VR training market will reach $5.5 billion in revenue by 2023. This represents growth of 587 percent from 2018’s estimated $800 million in revenue. The long-term outlook for consumer adoption of VR technology is strong, but for the next few years, consumer adoption will lag behind the enterprise market.” - JFF Labs Immersive Learning Industry Report
“VR leads for now: Virtual reality will grow faster than augmented, mixed, or extended reality solutions in the near term..” - JFF Labs Immersive Learning Industry Report
“As the world of work evolves, the need for new and more effective approaches to training is greater than ever. The need is complex and multifaceted, encompassing demand for new ways to teach both technical and interpersonal skills” - JFF Labs Immersive Learning Industry Report
VR adoption is accelerating thanks to the Oculus Quest. We’ve seen over 100 VR titles break $1 million in revenue, growing the total VR software market by 3x in 2019. Top grossing VR titles have cleared $10 million in revenue, and can reach up to $60 million in sales given the current distribution of headsets in the market so far. Though still small, VR is a growing and sustainable platform for developers.
Acquisitions
Facebook buys VR Studio behind Beat Saber
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/26/facebook-buys-the-vr-studio-behind-beat-saber/
“…The most interesting data point for me is that Beat Saber sold over one million copies in a year and is making over $20 million in revenue,” Tipatat Chennavasin, a co-founder of The VR Fund and an advisor to Beat Games, told TechCrunch in an email interview. “That makes it not just the biggest VR games success story but also the biggest indie games success story on any platform of the past year. Angry Bird’s success on iOS helped legitimize smartphones as a gaming platform when it made $6 million in one year.”
Facebook buys VR Studio - Sanzaru Games
The development group will join Oculus Studios as an “independently operated studio”. We’d speculated such a purchase was likely as Facebook made no secret that it is on a bit of a shopping spree for VR development talent in the build-up against existing gaming giants like Microsoft and Sony.
Apple acquires NextVR for $100M
"The acquisition should help Apple in its move to conquer the world of VR and AR over the next few years. Apple earlier told its employees that it was aiming to launch its first AR headset by 2022, according to a report by the Information."
https://www.businessinsider.com/nextvr-reportedly-acquired-by-apple-in-buying-spree-2020-4
Niantic (creator of Pokemon Go) acquires 6D.ai
(Founder from Wollongong - Rick & Brennan's small Australian home town, with a growing reputation in tech startups)“A machine readable world mesh would be the most valuable asset in computing,” explained Ori Inbar, partner in Super Ventures, which invested in 6D.ai along with General Catalyst.
Snapchat acquires AR company AI Factory for $166M
"After acquiring Ukraine startup Looksery in 2015 to supercharge animated selfie lenses in Snapchat ... The company has acquired AI Factory, a computer vision startup."
Trends (post-coronavirus)
With more remote work — can VR provide the value of in-person interactions?
With more and more remote work and people working from home, will we ever be able to close the gap on the value of in-person interactions? Here are some things to consider about the value of human presence in AR/VR technology today, and how it will play a role in the changing workplace over the next decade.
"Obviously, not everything can be virtual, but there will be a trend for less face-to-face interactions. Humans working remotely (or from home) will become more acceptable."
"Mark Zuckerberg recently stated that 'AR & VR are about delivering a sense of presence — the feeling that you’re right there with another person or in another place … these will be the most human and social technology platforms anyone has built yet.'"
"Teams currently already use VR/AR for meetings, HTC is having their company conference in VR this year, Ford’s designers are using VR right now during Coronavirus as they work from home, and Bell’s designers were able to collaborate and design a new helicopter 10x faster than ever before. This trend will only continue as the technology becomes more ubiquitous, and attitudes to remote work change."