Cloud-based VR content provider AmazeVR has raised $7 million in funding from Mirae Asset Group and several strategic investors including LG Technology Ventures, Timewise Investment and Smilegate Investment. The company said that newly raised funds will be used for creating VR content for mass distribution.
The company also announced its partnership with LG U+ to co-produce “must see content” in VR. LG U+ will also host AmazeVR content on its service as well as leverage AmazeVR's proprietary content generation tools to make its own VR content production easier, as LG U+ works to release 1,500 VR experiences this year. LG Technology Ventures invested in AmazeVR as part of its strategy to further VR and next-generation displays.
“We believe cloud-based VR is the future, and AmazeVR has developed elegant technology that enables users to create and share interactive content very easily,” said Dong-Su Kim, CEO of LG Technology Ventures.
“We are incredibly excited about how the AmazeVR platform will enable innovative, quality content to be generated at unprecedented scale and speed,” said Dong-Su Kim.
AmazeVR produces high-quality 3D, 180-degree videos, using custom cameras built in-house. Since its launch in 2017, it has become one of the top Free App in the Samsung Gear VR Oculus Store.
The company informed that its technology is ideally suited to for outside content creators that need easy-to-use tools to build their own branching narrative content in VR. AmazeVR's proprietary content tools allow creators to rapidly produce interactive VR content without needing an entire team of engineers. And compared to commercial client stitching software, which can take hours to process a minute of high-quality content, AmazeVR's cloud service takes less than five minutes.
AmazeVR also offers a path for content creators to monetize their content. AmazeVR now offers on-demand and Premium Pass models, through which users can purchase a single piece of premium content or a period-based subscription that gives users access to all premium content. Creators profit based on purchases of both Premium Passes and TVOD.
“AmazeVR sits at the forefront of VR innovation, successfully bucking conventional wisdom. We see no reason that VR content shouldn't be compelling enough to support a Netflix model. To get there, we must devise mechanisms to inspire, assist, and reward content creators,” said Steve Lee, CEO of AmazeVR.
“Our approach, commitment to quality, industry-leading technology, and strategic investors provide a path forward to make VR/AR the next great frontier for entertainment and personal displays,” said Steve Lee.
