Acquisition Of NextVR, Apple Wants To Make Virtual Reality Devices

Apple store (Unsplash) illustration

JAKARTA - It looks like Apple will be eyeing the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) markets in the near future. The reason is because the Silicon Valley giant, United States (US) has reportedly acquired the NextVR startup.

A report revealed that Apple spent 100 million US dollars or around IDR 1.5 billion to acquire this startup. Apple also confirmed that it would bring AR technology to the iPhone.

"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we usually do not discuss our goals or plans," said an Apple spokesman quoted from ZDNet, Friday, May 15.

"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we usually do not discuss our goals or plans," said an Apple spokesman quoted from ZDNet, Friday, May 15.

The Newport Beach, California-based startup previously focused on broadcasting by producing live and recorded broadcasts in virtual reality technology, such as music concerts and sports events. It is known, NextVR has an agreement with the NBA to broadcast virtual reality highlights from the NBA Finals in 2019.

According to PitchBook data, NextVR has a share value of 116 million US dollars and has 95 employees as of 2019. Many of its investors are affiliated with the entertainment industry, including Golden State Warriors co-owners Peter Guber, Comcast Ventures and Time Warner Investments.

Since being acquired by Apple, the display on the NextVR website has been replaced by a notification saying, “NextVR is Heading in a New Direction. Thank you to our partners and fans around the world for the role you played in building this incredible platform for sports, music and entertainment experiences in Virtual Reality. "

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously discussed his thoughts on AR and VR technology in recent years, and shortly thereafter, Apple introduced support for virtual reality headsets on Mac devices in 2017.

“I think, when you look at AR today, you will see that there are consumer applications, there are enterprise applications. This is the reason I'm so excited about it, you rarely have a new technology that businesses and consumers alike see as key to them, "said Cook.