InstaVR Inc (http://www.instavr.co), a virtual reality (VR) authoring, publishing, and analysis company, announced the close of a $2 million series A round of equity funding, led by The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund). The company's web-based solution enables companies to quickly and easily author interactive 360-degree VR apps for mobile and desktop devices. Additionally, InstaVR today launched with three marquee clients: Smithsonian American Art Museum, AECOM and transcosmos Inc.
Daniel H. Haga, Founder of InstaVR, said: 'We're focused on enabling companies to create rich customer experiences through emerging VR technologies, and doing it in a way that's easy and accessible. Both B2C as well as B2B companies are clamoring for ways to engage their end users with VR, and we're poised to be the frontrunners in this market through our cloud-based app publishing platform.'
Marco DeMiroz, General Partner at The VR Fund, said: 'InstaVR's industry-changing authoring and publishing technology enables a wide variety of industries to reach their customers with immersive VR apps. We look forward to seeing the variety and depth of new VR apps in the market created by InstaVR's platform.'
Through the InstaVR publishing platform, the Smithsonian now offers one of the world's largest collections of art made in the United States through an immersive 360-degree app experience, called the Renwick Gallery WONDER 360. Nine leading contemporary artists-Jennifer Angus, Chakaia Booker, Gabriel Dawe, Tara Donovan, Patrick Dougherty, Janet Echelman, John Grade, Maya Lin and Leo Villareal-created site-specific, gallery-sized installations inspired by the Renwick's history and grandeur. Users can install the free app on mobile devices:
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/renwick-gallery-wonder-360/id1132642025?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.si.americanart.wonder360
Carlos Parada, Information Technology and Media Producer of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, said: 'InstaVR offers us a simple to use yet powerful creation tool.'
AECOM, a multinational engineering firm with over 92,000 employees in 150 countries, utilizes InstaVR to publish a multitude of VR experiences for different constituencies, such as developing training modules for display on the Samsung Gear VR platform, and building immersive VR for community development meetings to allow the public to experience projects prior to voting on them.
Stephen Paul, Visualization Manager and DCS Americas Marketing of AECOM, said: 'InstaVR allowed us a fast and effective way to reach our audience across multiple platforms. We're very pleased, and looking forward to all the great developments to come.'
InstaVR will also be exhibiting on Monday, September 12 at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, as part of the VR Pavilion at Startup Alley. The company will showcase its technology and allow attendees to experience apps created using InstaVR on iPads, Google Cardboard, and Gear VR devices.
During the InstaVR beta, over 2,000 companies registered to create thousands of 360-degree VR experiences across a wide array of industries, including real estate, hospitality, tourism, consumer goods, transportation, and construction. For more information and to access the InstaVR platform, visit http://www.instavr.co.
About InstaVR Inc
Based in San Francisco, InstaVR is a virtual reality focused technology company, providing tools and services to enable professionals to author and publish interactive VR experiences. InstaVR is completely web-based and requires no specialized engineering knowledge. Since launching in early 2016, over 2,000 companies have created thousands of immersive 360-degree apps for iOS, Android, web, Gear VR and Google Cardboard, including Smithsonian American Art Museum, AECOM and transcosmos Inc. For more information and to access the InstaVR platform, visit http://www.instavr.co.
About The Venture Reality Fund
Based in San Francisco with a global reach, The Venture Reality Fund (The VR Fund) is the leading early stage venture capital fund solely focusing on investments in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) companies. The VR Fund launched its debut fund in early 2016 with a target size of $50 million. The VR Fund is coÂ-founded by Marco DeMiroz and Tipatat Chennavasin, who have founded, exited, taken companies public and invested in VR companies from seed to series C. By combining financing with unique sector expertise, resources and services to portfolio companies, The VR Fund is poised to be the global leader in earlyÂ-stage VR and AR investments. To learn more, visit http://thevrfund.com.