Shasta Ventures invests in startups in sectors. Their program consists of a proven methodology and a set of comprehensive playbooks that dive deep into the obstacles and challenges of early-stage startups. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to early-stage, so this agile program allows founders to tap into the resources they need when they need them.

Shasta Ventures

Felicis Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. The firm invests in seed through Series C stage companies across multiple sectors and industries reinventing core markets, as well as those creating frontier technologies. Felicis currently manages over $2B in capital across 8 funds. The firm is an early backer of more than 40 companies valued at $1B+. More than 90 of its portfolio companies have been acquired or gone public since the firm was founded by Aydin Senkut in 2006.

Felicis

Granite Ventures has been helping early-stage technology companies build solid foundations for success since 1992. T Granite has invested over $1 billion in more than 90 private companies. They partner with promising and successful entrepreneurs to create businesses that have a competitive edge and help them achieve category leadership.

Granite Ventures

DHVC is a venture capital firm based in Palo Alto, California. We invest in Enterprise, Consumer, FinTech, and Healthcare sectors. Our team brings together decades of combined experience in entrepreneurship, operations, investment, and research to serve our portfolio companies in growing and achieving success.

DHVC

WiL (World Innovation Lab) is a venture capital firm that partners with leading global corporations and government entities in Japan and Asia. With offices in Palo Alto, California, and Tokyo, the firm’s mission is to serve as a bridge between startups and corporations in the United States and Asia, with a particular focus on Japan. WiL supports its portfolio companies by establishing corporate partnerships that enable U.S. and European startups to scale globally, and Japanese startups to innovate and globalize. WiL invests in emerging technology spanning fintech, insurtech, automation and productivity, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, developer tools, health tech and sustainability. Notable WiL investments that have exited to public markets from Fund I and Fund II include Asana, Mercari, Raksul, Wise and Auth0 — whose acquisition by Okta was completed in May 2021. WiL also invests in exceptional venture funds, and supports its LPs in corporate venture investment efforts. WiL also works with its corporate investors on evolving their own innovation capabilities through new business creation, partnerships with leading startups, and organizational culture change. WiL acts as the bridge between startups and corporates across key innovation hubs around the globe in driving growth - starting with Japan and the US.

WiL (World Innovation Lab)

Invest in top tier VC funds as well as direct co-investment

Cherry Tree Investments

Samsung NEXT Ventures is an investment arm of Samsung NEXT, a multifaceted innovation group within Samsung Electronics dedicated to identifying new growth opportunities that will define the next decade. The firm prefers to invest in artificial intelligence, fintech, blockchain, health technology, infrastructure, and media technology sectors.

Samsung NEXT

Lux Capital manages over $5 billion in assets focused on founding, seed, early-stage, and growth investments at the intersection of technology and the sciences. Lux takes an active role in helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses in high-growth sectors. Its investment team has built over 20 companies from scratch. Lux's investment strategy ensures portfolio companies are better connected, have a deeper insight, and command industry leadership faster than their competitors.

Lux Capital

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is an entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content.  In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels. MGM and its legendary roaring lion logo was formed in April 1924, by theater magnate Marcus Loew, who orchestrated the merger of Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions. With visionary Louis B. Mayer and production genius Irving Thalberg at the helm, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was a powerhouse of prolific artistry and filmmaking expertise that the studio famously said attracted ''more stars than are in the heavens.'' During a golden three decades from 1924 to 1954, the Culver City-based studio dominated the movie business, creating a Best Picture nominee every year for two straight decades. One of the more memorable years at the Academy Awards® was in 1939 when MGM's Gone With the Wind and MGM's The Wizard of Oz were both nominated for Best Picture. Gone With the Wind took home Best Picture that year, along with 8 other Oscars. The Wizard of Oz secured two Oscars. Hattie McDaniel Won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Oscar®. United Artists was established on July 15, 1919, by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith and was best known as ''the company built by the stars.'' The budding company quickly left an indelible mark on Hollywood, revolutionizing the motion-picture business by promising creative freedom to actors and filmmakers, while offering the filmmakers a share of the film's profits. UA's Midnight Cowboy, released in 1969 starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, was the first X-Rated film to be nominated and win an Academy Award®. It won 3 Oscars®, including Best Picture. It was changed to an R-rating in 1971. United Artists later joined the MGM family in 1981, and thrived as a member of the ''lion's pride.'' MGM boasts more than 175 Academy Awards® in its vast library. Among those are 14 Best Pictures. These films include; Rebecca (1940), Hamlet (1948), Marty (1955), The Apartment (1960), West Side Story (1961), Tom Jones (1963), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Rocky (1976), Annie Hall (1977), Platoon (1986), Rain Man (1988), Dances With Wolves (1990), The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

MGM Studios

Dentsu Ventures is the corporate venture capital fund of Dentsu. It specializes in seed, early, mid and later-stage investments. It prefers to invest in the marketing and communication business sectors in the United States of America, Europe, and Asia.

Dentsu Ventures

Shanda Group is a private investment firm that was founded in 1999 by Tianqiao Chen and Chrissy Luo. The company works across venture capital, private equity, public markets, and real estate, prioritizing investments in the financial services, technology, and healthcare sectors. Shanda has offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Menlo Park. It invests in innovative companies and great management teams that have the vision and determination to change the world.

Shanda Group

Irongrey is a global investment firm that empowers entrepreneurs in building innovative and disruptive businesses.  Irongrey invests in venture capital and PE funds.  Irongrey  was founded in 2012 and was headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

Irongrey

Seoul Investment Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on investments in small and medium businesses.

Seoul Investment Partners

Woori Technology Investment Co., Ltd. is a venture capital firm focusing on venture capital.

Woori Technology Investment

KNet Investment Partners

Survios

Survios is a virtual reality company that creates groundbreaking interactive content powered by cutting edge immersive technology. It is composed of a team of dreamers, makers, artists, thinkers, and gamers. It's focus is all about engaging games., immersive tech and unparalleled presence. Nathan Burba, James Iliff and Alexander Silkin launched Project Holodeck as an interdisciplinary effort at the University of Southern California’s Games program. From Project Holodeck they founded Survios, and continue to focus on virtual reality gaming and immersive technology.

<div>Survios is a developer of VR-based video games that are supported on multiple VR systems such as Oculus, Vive, and PlayStation VR. The company&rsquo;s first game Raw Data (2015) was the first VR game to reach USD 1 million in sales within one month of early access release, and it included full-body position tracking, avatar embodiment, and multiplayer capability. Survios launched 2124 (October 2021), a publishing division focused on supporting indie PC, console, and VR game developers in the post pre-production stage. 2124&rsquo;s services include pre-launch services such as platform relations, industry expert advice, and marketing support.</div>

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

Survios reveals Alien: Rogue Incursion VR title, coming out later this year

<div>
 
 Survios is a developer of VR-based video games that are supported on multiple VR systems such as Oculus, Vive, and PlayStation VR. The company&rsquo;s first game Raw Data (2015) was the first VR game to reach USD 1 million in sales within one month of early access release, and it included full-body position tracking, avatar embodiment, and multiplayer capability. Survios launched 2124 (October 2021), a publishing division focused on supporting indie PC, console, and VR game developers in the post pre-production stage. 2124&rsquo;s services include pre-launch services such as platform relations, industry expert advice, and marketing support.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In July 2022, it announced a partnership with 20th Century Games to develop &lsquo;Aliens&rsquo;, a single-player, action horror game, for VR, PC, and console. The company is known to focus on releasing titles tied to existing intellectual property in television and film, as evidenced by the launch of its titles such as &ldquo;Westworld: Awakening&rdquo; in partnership with HBO, Kilter Films, and Westworld showrunners, &ldquo;Creed: Rise to Glory&rdquo; with MGM Interactive, and &ldquo;Walking Dead: Onslaught&rdquo; in partnership with AMC. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In its last funding round (October 2020), Survios raised USD 16.7 million in funding led by South Korean SeAH Group's investment arm Irongrey, with participation from Woori Technology Investment, KNET Venture Fund, Seoul Investment Partners, and Shasta Ventures. The funds were raised to expand headcount and develop new video game titles for the latest VR hardware, including the Oculus Quest 2.
 
</div>

Interplay Learning (Interplay) provides on-demand, interactive, and hands-on simulation learning courses for skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance, through VR, mobile, and desktop applications. The learning courses also include simulated walkthrough videos where experts lead users through procedure guides methodically, with knowledge testing features and additional learning material such as wiring diagrams, equations, sample system configs, and charts at the end of each lesson. The platform also enables managers to track user progress.The company operates a subscription-based model with monthly packages for individuals (USD 54) and teams (USD 229), alongside a custom plan for larger organizations.Key customers and partnershipsNotable customers include Tesla and Rheem Manufacturing. Interplay’s customer usage rose by 445% YoY in 2020. As of February 2021, the platform had over 2,000 customers and 110,000 users across the US.Funding and financialsIn its last funding round (February 2021), Interplay raised USD 18 million in Series B funding co-led by S3 Ventures and Owl Ventures, the world’s largest venture capital firm focused on education technology. As part of the deal, Managing Director of Owl Ventures, Ian Chiu, joined Interplay’s board. The funds were raised to expand its offering to new markets and to accelerate its vision to combine immersive learning experiences with a human connection.

Interplay Learning

Switzerland-based WayRay develops holographic AR technology and hardware for the automobile sector. Its technology is used in head-up displays (HUDs) that project images into a driver’s field of vision to assist with navigation. Although its initial focus was on developing HUDs that can be purchased and installed in any vehicle, it has since pivoted to producing embedded HUD systems (i.e., hardware built into vehicles). WayRay’s HUDs are considered to provide a wider field of vision and combine data (location and mapping information) with vision data to generate images by projecting a laser beam through a Picture Generating Unit (PGU) onto a Holographic Optical Element (HOE).&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18537">May 2023</a>, WayRay announced integration of its AR displays into Tesla Model 3's in Switzerland, with plans to follow shortly afterwards in the US. Previously, in September 2021 the company launched its deep reality system that replaces the traditional car dashboard. In addition, WayRay launched “The Holograktor” dubbed the first “metaverse on wheels”, which can be driven conventionally or using a remote control via a 5G and satellite connection (November 2021).&nbsp;The company’s founder and CEO, Vitaly Ponomarev, identified that its systems are more advanced, backed by more patents, and potentially 20x smaller than comparable devices in the market. WayRay’s HQ in Switzerland also acts as a product design and development hub, while its R&amp;D center and prototyping factory are based in Russia.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company is backed by strategic investors such as luxury automaker Porsche, which highlighted the management’s expertise in space engineering, hardware, and software development as key reasons for its investment, Hyundai Motor Co., and Alibaba. It is also notable that these investors, particularly Hyundai, are looking at ways to potentially use WayRay’s technology to offer more services in the future. For instance, Hyundai believed that the technology could be used for smart cities and smart buildings, which are its new areas of interest.WayRay partnered with Karma Automotive, a producer of luxury electric vehicles, in December 2021 to support the implementation of its HUDs into their test fleet. Moreover, it partnered with a leader in designing and manufacturing specialty glass, AGP eGlass, in September 2021 to further proliferate its technology.&nbsp; Funding and financialsIt was reported in April 2021 that the company is considering a public listing at a USD 2 billion valuation via a SPAC, although no further updates on this have been announced as at January 2024.&nbsp;

WayRay

AmazeVR initially focused on developing VR technologies but pivoted to VR concerts in late 2019. The concerts are backed by proprietary 9K cameras and software that automate complex VR concert visual effects that run on more than 100 headsets simultaneously. Users join and hang out with other users as avatars while experiencing VR concerts. It intends to bring VR concerts by major artists to theaters and eventually, homes.AmazeVR rolled out its first commercial VR concert, which will feature 3x Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, in 2022. The artist is expected to tour select AMC Theaters across the US. It is also in the final stages of closing deals with its second and third artists. AmazeVR also revealed plans to release weekly content by 2024 in theaters and for at-home viewers.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20145">July 2023</a>, AmazeVR launched its official AmazeVR Concerts app, featuring an exclusive VR concert from Swedish pop star, Zara Larsson. The app is available on major VR app stores, and the exclusive Zara Larsson VR concert can be accessed for a year at a launch price of USD 6.99. AmazeVR also produces and monetizes VR content on a subscription basis.As of August 2023, the company was in the process of producing and releasing mixed reality concerts by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13338">September 2022</a>, when it raised USD 17 million in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Capital. The fresh funds were allocated to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers, and agencies.

AmazeVR

Dispelix, based in Finland, designs and manufactures single-layer, full-color waveguide displays, a thin (about 1mm) transparent element that takes in a projected image and relays it to the eye, using a nanophotonics-based approach catering to AR applications (e.g., smart glasses). It uses laser beam scanning technology to render laser-sharp images with a gamut of color palettes, which are displayed using beam-combiner technology. Its patented and proprietary approach includes diffractive surface relief gratings, which are elements used for high-power laser applications, fabricated on high refractive index glass wafers that enhance field-of-view and image quality.The company had a total of more than 40 granted or pending patent families as of November 2021. Its product line, Dispelix DPX, includes Dispelix DPX - Ohut, Dispelix DPX - Selva, and Dispelix DPX - Sade with a varying degree of field of view, form factor, and weight. According to Co-Founder and CTO Juuso Olkkonen, its displays are the lightest and thinnest in the market.Key customers and partnerships1) Foxconn and Pegatron: to create reference designs for AR glasses based on its Selvä waveguide display (October 2023)&nbsp;2) VividQ: created a “waveguide combiner” which accurately displays variable-depth 3D content in a user’s environment (January 2023)3) ColorChip and Maradin: To further Light Beam Scanning (LBS) solutions for AR glasses (October 2022)4) Jade Bird Displays: To develop multiple reference designs for AR devices (June 2022)5) AAC Technologies: To improve waveguide displays for the AR and MR industry (March 2022)6) OQmented: for the development and commercialization of MEMS-based LBS technology (November 2021)7) Coretronic: To develop a range of AR optical module solutions (December 2020)8) Hoya Corporation: To improve quality of waveguide displays (November 2020)Funding and financialsIn its most recent funding round (November 2021), Dispelix raised USD 33 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Atlantic Bridge, CCB Trust, and Flashpoint with participation from Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and 3M Ventures. The funds were allocated to product development. It revealed that several OEM customers were slated to integrate its technology into their consumer offerings by 2023.

Dispelix

DigiLens is a developer of holographic waveguides, which is a clear, thin piece of glass or plastic, used for AR devices. In January 2023, the company launched ARGO, an XR smartglass designed for enterprise and industrial use, the first AR device to utilize Qualcomm’s SnapDragon XR2 platform. Other specifications included 6-degrees of freedom (6-DoF) tracking, a 30-degree field-of-view, spatial audio, a 48MP RGB camera, voice and gaze recognition, access to real-time data visualizations, and a 2,500-nits HD display.&nbsp;The company’s first product, the DigiLens Crystal was introduced in 2019, was a thin-film laser-etched photopolymer embedded with microscopic holograms of mirror-like optics. By projecting a micro display to one end of the lens and another set of optics working to guide the light wave toward the eye, this proved to be an ideal piece of hardware for AR devices, which are preferred with as little hardware as possible.&nbsp;It claims that its patented optical platform and photopolymer technology coupled with a holographic copy manufacturing process enable it to produce cheaper and more scalable solutions. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17598">April 2023</a>, the company announced the launch of SRG+, a surface relief gratings product that improves upon its waveguide technology.The company generates revenue by licensing its technology across a range of industries including the automobile, enterprise, consumer, avionics, and military sectors. DigiLens also offers a white-label solution for automotive companies whereby it creates holographic waveguides for windshields that could offer in-cabin experiences for drivers.&nbsp;&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsKey partnerships include that with1) Phantom Technologies: - Phantom Technology: To integrate Phantom's CASSI Spatial AI assistant into the DigiLens ARGO glasses, providing features such as spatial search, a contextual assistant, and task management using voice commands (October 2023)2) Wisear: To integrate its neural interface-powered earphones with the ARGO smart glasses (May 2023)3) Mojo Vision: To utilize Mojo Vision's micro-LED technology to build improved AR glasses (May 2023)4) Taqtile: To integrate the company's ARGO smart glasses with Taqtile's AR work platform, Manifest (May 2023)5) OMNIVISION: To develop new XR product offerings (January 2023)Other partnerships include that with OMNIVISION (January 2023), a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions to develop new XR product offerings. OMNIVISION’s liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) panels allowed DigiLens to build LCOS/LED projectors optimized for its holographic waveguides. OMNIVISION's core camera technology provides DigiLens' devices with features such as visual odometry and six degrees of freedom.&nbsp;DigiLens also works with Taiwanese licensed waveguide manufacturer Young Optics, Chinese original design manufacturer and electronics supplier Malata, Korean display manufacturer Sekonix, international technology company Continental, Chinese optical elements manufacturer Crystal Optech, and Mitsubishi Chemical.&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn April 2022, DigiLens announced the second close of its Series D funding round (intiial close in November 2021) in which it raised USD 50 million at a valuation of USD 530 million. The funds were allocated for the development of DesignV1, its second-generation product.

DigiLens

Companies developing XR headsets and relevant sub-components (displays, sensors, and processors). Also includes complementary XR hardware (tracking devices, haptic vests, and gloves)

Companies offering engines that enable the development of AR/VR content, also includes companies offering capabilities to capture and create 3D images for immersive environments

Companies offering AR/VR solutions or toolkits for specific industry applications, including VR game developers

Companies offering location-based AR/VR experiences

AR/VR platforms offer remote assistance to field experts and headset manufacturers facilitate virtual work

Some solutions in the "content" segment are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Headsets and content segments provide the building blocks for the metaverse

AR, VR, and MR are the primary enabling technologies for the XR industry

Survios

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