Laguna Beach-based NextVR Inc. is on a hiring spree and considering the development of a new engineering hub in Orange County amid recent progress toward deals to license its virtual reality content technology to professional sports leagues.
Signs of growth continued last week when the startup announced that it landed a big-time backer from the sports and entertainment industries. That fueled speculation that NextVR could be the next big technology hit in OC, following in the footsteps of virtual reality software and headset maker and collaborator Oculus VR Inc., which was acquired last year by Facebook Inc. for an eye-popping $2 billion.
“Someone has to get big in this space,” said NextVR cofounder David Cole. “The climate and sea change that’s coming in terms of content, I don’t think any of that really suggests a modest growth plan. The smoke signals are there.”
NextVR is actively recruiting “rock-star” 3-D graphics programmers, encoders, Web designers and Android and iOS developers. It’s also adding to its management ranks to handle product teams for the pending launch of virtual reality platforms developed by the likes of Oculus, Sony, and HTC/Valve Software.
NextVR aims to add about 70 high-paying positions to its current roster of 15 employees in the next 12 months or so, positioning the company to be among the largest independent companies in the emerging virtual reality sector.
The growth has prompted management to seek another location to house engineers near its headquarters on Third Street in downtown Laguna Beach.
“We’re out of parking already,” Cole said.
‘Area 51’
The company also is adding specialists to its research and development unit that Cole calls its “Area 51.”
The R&D team is working on “really exotic stuff,” he said, including light field capture, which enhances an ultra-HD camera’s ability to capture the depth of the world, similar to sonar scans of the ocean floor. The technology allows virtual reality users to have 360-degree experiences with the ability to move around objects that hinder view—a referee on the court, for example. The 360-degree capability provides the effect of being present in an environment.
Don’t expect NextVR to take the same path as Oculus, which moved its headquarters to Facebook’s home in Menlo Park shortly after being acquired by the social media behemoth.
OC brings several advantages, according to Cole, including its proximity to Hollywood and the abundance of tech talent that stretches from Los Angeles to San Diego.
“The access to engineering talent has been phenomenally better than if we had tackled this in the Northern part of the state,” he said. And there’s “such a big gaming-centric population here in Orange County, which is probably our top area to draw from. It’s pretty fertile grounds.”
Guber on Board
NextVR furthered its lead in the race to produce live content by aligning itself with three of the biggest powerbrokers in entertainment, sports and broadcasting last week.
Hollywood and sports executive Peter Guber was named chairman of the company’s newly formed advisory committee. He said he plans to make a “multimillion” investment in what could be a sizable funding round to scale the business globally.
“We’re swinging for the fences,” Cole said. “It’s not a bad time in the financial markets to raise a war chest.”
Guber is the founder and chief executive of Mandalay Entertainment and part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Golden State Warriors. He also runs Dick Clark Entertainment, the largest award show producer in the U.S.
“As you can imagine, we’ll probably be doing something there,” said NextVR Executive Chairman Brad Allen. “His relationships are incredible across sports, media and entertainment.”
Allen is a finance specialist and a partner in the digital arm of Corona del Mar-based venture capital firm Miramar Venture Partners. He has deep connections in investment banking in Asia and met Guber and Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob about 18 months ago in Beijing at a preseason game between the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
Allen joined NextVR a short while later and soon encountered Guber at the NBA Tech Summit during the league’s All-Star weekend in New York in February.
“When we got back to L.A., we got together and started working on doing this,” Allen said.
The partnership expanded when NextVR got approval from the Warriors to video record game footage for a virtual reality demo.
The technology blew Guber away and has wowed audiences from Los Angeles to Hong Kong.
Sneak Peak
The Business Journal got a sneak peak of a 15-minute demo during a recent visit to NextVR’s modern, glass-encased, 4,000-square-foot headquarters steps from Pacific Coast Highway.
The simulation quickly transported the viewer from a conference table at the company’s office to courtside seats at a Warriors preseason basketball game. A minute or two later, the viewer was behind the net at an Anaheim Ducks game at Honda Center, then on center ice on the outdoor rink constructed at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for a “Stadium Series” clash between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings.
One can sense the speed of the skaters and crisp ball movement as if he’s actually attending the event in real time. The picture resolution needs improvement, but every new Android smartphone model should gradually improve the experience.
NextVR’s other inaugural advisory members include Scott Teissler, former executive vice president, chief technology officer, and chief digital strategy officer for Turner Broadcasting System Inc. who also served as senior vice president of new media strategy and CTO at CNN, as well as sports media dealmaker Doug Perlman who had stints with the NHL and talent agency IMG.
Perlman is a digital rights expert who founded Sports Media Advisors, which focuses on linking sports, television and digital platforms.
That’s some serious industry muscle and strategic guidance NextVR can rely on as it continues partnership talks with news outlets and Nascar, NBA and NHL executives, including the sports’ commissioners.
“This year for us is really about creating, developing and getting all those content and distribution partnerships in place while the VR market is growing,” Allen said. “We’ve attracted a lot of attention with our live VR broadcast. We’ve proven out the technology.”
