The VR Fund: AR company industry map in the second quarter of 2017

The Venture Reality Fund, which focuses on VR/AR investment, released an overview of AR companies in the second quarter of 2017, which shows that a total of 150 companies focus on AR technology.

The VR Fund said that they have raised $50 million to invest in VR/AR startups in the past, and the number of companies focusing on AR increased by 60% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.

Tipatat Chennavasin, co-founder and managing director of the fund, said: "In the past quarter, major players in the AR industry, including Facebook, Apple, etc., have made significant moves, which immediately led to a significant increase in AR developer activities and a wide range of market coverage. These actions reflect the growing interest in AR, mainly driven by device infrastructure and software development tools."

The VR Fund evaluated 2,000 companies and selected those that met certain criteria in terms of funding, revenue, mainstream coverage or major partnerships.

Companies were strongest in the second quarter in the areas of device infrastructure and SDK tool development, suggesting that AR is still an evolving industry. Chennavasin said these efforts will help drive consumer and enterprise adoption of AR.

Microsoft HoloLens and Google Tango laid the foundation for AR, and although the sales of development kits were limited, they educated the market. It is expected that in the near future, Microsoft and Google's AR platforms will be further advanced to respond to Apple's ARKit.

Google Tango's technology has been proven to provide a good experience for users, but the existing fragmentation of the Android ecosystem has become an obstacle to Tango's rapid development and wider adoption.

The launch of Facebook's camera platform and Apple's ARKit has sparked activity in AR companies and increased attention to AR, especially for consumer-related applications. Early developers say Apple is becoming a major force in the AR platform war.

From: ifanr