As adoption of virtual reality expands, Infinite Reality, Inc. announced its acquisition of Landvault. The company aims for the $450 million all stock deal to solidify its standing as a leader in immersive platform technology, according to DealPulse’s M&A database, which harnesses both AI and attorneys to digest the granular deal points of publicly announced transactions,.
“Landvaults impressive portfolio includes award-winning projects such as their work with Dentsu on the Cannes Lion-winning campaign created for Heineken,” according to the company’s press release. “Other notable collaborations include projects with Hershey in Decentraland, the World of Women experience in The Sandbox, as well as upcoming high-profile projects and partnerships in the Middle East, including initiatives with the UAE and Saudi Government, local tourism boards and real estate companies.”
An estimated 65 million Americans (15% of the population) have used virtual technology, and 110 million have used augmented reality. While virtual reality provides a fully immersive experience where the real life environment is replaced with a virtually-created one, augmented realize overlays digital elements to a real view picked up by a smartphone’s camera. Technological improvements in recent years have made these technologies more attainable at a somewhat lower cost – with less bulky equipment needed.
“The VR market is primarily driven by the gaming and entertainment sector, with immersive gaming experiences and VR cinemas gaining popularity,” according to Market.us. Companies use VR and AR to advertise and engage with customers via the experiences they provide. “Additionally, there is a growing demand for VR in training and simulation applications in industries such as healthcare, aviation, and the military.” Whether pilots are training, medical students are practicing surgeries, or soldiers are conducting mock war games, VR and AR are being harnessed.
Sony, with its PlayStation gaming system, leads the VR sector with a 36.7% market share, followed by HTC and Microsoft. In 2021, Mark Zuckerberg proclaimed that the metaverse – a virtual world accessible via VR headsets and AR devices — would be future of tech, even changing the name of Facebook to Meta.
Such revolutionary adoption has yet to come to pass as high costs of entry and uninspiring user experiences have failed to draw large audiences. For example, the $1.3 billion product Decentraland wound up with just 38 daily active users. Although public interest moved onto artificial intelligence as ChatGPT emerged, companies such as Infinite Reality plan to capitalize on future VR and AR growth. Analysts predict a robust 11.8% CAGR through 2033.