Oculus Rift secures $16 million in first round of investor funding from Spark Capital, Matrix Partne - Polidicks

[quote]Fresh off the heels of a buzzy turn at gaming conference E3, Oculus Rift has raised its first round of funding, according to several people familiar with the situation. The Southern California company, which makes virtual reality headsets for gaming, raised $16 million in its first round of outside capital co-led by Spark Capital and Matrix Partners co-led the deal. The round has a $30 million pre-money valuation, people familiar with the matter said. Oculus Rift did not provide a comment for this story. Spark Capital did not return emails.[/quote] [url]http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/17/oculus-rift-16-million/[/url] Also, Spark Capital was one of the early investors of Twitter and Tumblr, along with a few other high profile websites/companies: [url]http://www.sparkcapital.com/portfolio/[/url] [editline]18th June 2013[/editline] A statement from Palmer Luckey: [quote]In case you didn’t see the announcement, we have great news to share: we’ve raised $16 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Spark Capital and Matrix Partners, along with Founders Fund and Formation 8. This level of financial support opens incredible new doors for Oculus, and I’d like to provide a bit of context and backstory. I have been working on virtual reality technology for years. Starting in a garage, prototyping new hardware, and collaborating with other virtual reality enthusiasts was a blast long before anyone thought VR was poised for a comeback. Hackers, makers, and enthusiasts live on the bleeding edge of tech not because it makes financial sense, but because it is a thrill that you cannot get anywhere else. I got into VR because it seemed like the obvious path to the best possible gaming experience, but never expected it to take off so quickly. In less than a year, incredible game developers all over the world are building games designed explicitly for virtual reality, and people are beginning to understand that the tech is finally viable. Even with "next generation" consoles on the horizon, VR still came away with dozens of awards and accolades at E3. We were fortunate enough to be able to pick investors who we thought would be a great fit. They really believe in our vision for the future of VR. These are people who have taken companies from startup to mass market many times, entrepreneurs who have a ton of meaningful experience building hardware and software consumer technology. As I mentioned before, the funding opens up all sorts of doors for Oculus. It helps us hire the best and brightest minds in VR from around the world. It lets us experiment and prototype with more cutting-edge tech. And it allows us to build a badass, consumer VR gaming platform, the likes of which the world has never seen. Virtual reality will be one of the most significant technologies of the 21st century. It has the potential to drastically alter the way we play, communicate, and learn. I think that VR can (and will) be as widely used as Facebook or Twitter, and the societal implications will be far greater! I want to thank everyone for their support. None of this would be possible without you, the people who supported Oculus when it was nothing but a rough prototype and a dream of changing gaming forever! -- Palmer[/quote] [url]http://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/1gjzse/oculus_just_got_16_million_in_funding_we_are/[/url]

I'm so buying this when the 1080p oculus comes out. So boss!!

Please don't end up like OUYA

[QUOTE=garychencool;41076019]Please don't end up like OUYA[/QUOTE] Unlike the OUYA, they actually have a product worth buying. They didn't have to advertise their product in the parking lot.

[QUOTE=garychencool;41076019]Please don't end up like OUYA[/QUOTE] Isnt it an accessory as opposed to a completely new console?

[QUOTE=garychencool;41076019]Please don't end up like OUYA[/QUOTE] the ouya never had a market other than overconfident open-source developers who think that the average joe gives a fuck about developer freedom and then everyone just sort of went with the bandwagon the rift provides an experience that has been nothing but a pipe dream to people since they first saw star trek's holodeck pretty safe bet that the rift is gonna be all kinds of successful. [editline]17th June 2013[/editline] also the rift doesn't use a phone os that is clearly not designed for gaming

Having tried my friends Oculus let me tell you that this is the future. I've never seen or heard anyone that didnt like it, not even my mom.

[QUOTE=garychencool;41076019]Please don't end up like OUYA[/QUOTE] Their product sells itself (The 'Oculus Rift', that is).

[QUOTE=G-Strogg;41079970]Having tried my friends Oculus let me tell you that this is the future. I've never seen or heard anyone that didnt like it, not even my mom.[/QUOTE] Seconded. I got my devkit yesterday and everyone who tried it agrees that this shit is going to be rad. It's so good that the only bad part about it is having a mouse and keyboard.

[QUOTE=DeEz;41080399]Seconded. I got my devkit yesterday and everyone who tried it agrees that this shit is going to be rad. It's so good that the only bad part about it is having a mouse and keyboard.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHWJMytx5I[/media] [editline]18th June 2013[/editline] though that treadmill thing isn't exactly practical

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;41080623] though that treadmill thing isn't exactly practical[/QUOTE] I could see it in a few years were its collapsible and could be placed out of the way or be stored away in a closet and not be in the way when your not using it.

My friend was trying to tell me some conspiracy about how virtual reality will be the end of us or something. I was like "hold on" and I showed him that video of TF2 + oculus + treadmill and he about shit himself right there

[QUOTE=Mr.Goodcat;41080925]I could see it in a few years were its collapsible and could be placed out of the way or be stored away in a closet and not be in the way when your not using it.[/QUOTE] They're actually planning on the base being removable for the final product.

[QUOTE=Mr.Goodcat;41080925]I could see it in a few years were its collapsible and could be placed out of the way or be stored away in a closet and not be in the way when your not using it.[/QUOTE] But I want to be able to sit my ass down and be lazy, not run a mile. [editline]18th June 2013[/editline] Oculus Rift courses we be awesome. Imagine a game designed with real world areas in mind. Where ever you stand in the real world is where you are in the game. Give you a fake gun, some enemies to shoot and dodge = full immersion. That'd be rad, actually physically running to cover in real life while doing the same in the game; only difference is that in the game, there are people shooting you.

I remember the guys at Oculus mentioning that they didn't want investors because they didn't want people hijacking and perverting their vision. I hope this doesn't happen.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;41081235]I remember the guys at Oculus mentioning that they didn't want investors because they didn't want people hijacking and perverting their vision. I hope this doesn't happen.[/QUOTE] they're still in charge

People tend to notice great, legitimate people and the great projects they start, once those projects prove themselves to be legitimate as well I love how we are living an age were someone under 25-30 can become very well off and secure lots of funding thanks to simply how passionate they are in their craft, how industrious they are, and how they carry themselves to investors and other people. If anything thats why OR is becoming a success - it's because Palmer Lucky's face is behind it to the point where I know the dudes name without having to even look it up.

[QUOTE=garychencool;41076019]Please don't end up like OUYA[/QUOTE] Funny thing about the OUYA, I work at Best Buy and we have the presentation model sitting in the back of our warehouse.

[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;41080623][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHWJMytx5I[/media] [editline]18th June 2013[/editline] though that treadmill thing isn't exactly practical[/QUOTE] That will make fat burn good :v

That's great!, It's sad that it's co founder will never see how much of a success the Oculus Rift is.

Would the Rift fit over glasses, or are the screens so close that it would negate the need? If it's only for people w/o glasses they'd be losing a large customer base.

[QUOTE=ElectroMagnet;41083061]Would the Rift fit over glasses, or are the screens so close that it would negate the need? If it's only for people w/o glasses they'd be losing a large customer base.[/QUOTE] They confirmed a while ago it'll work fine with glasses iirc it fits over them

[QUOTE=ElectroMagnet;41083061]Would the Rift fit over glasses, or are the screens so close that it would negate the need? If it's only for people w/o glasses they'd be losing a large customer base.[/QUOTE] For long sighted viewers, glasses would be needed, and the rift does have possible adjustments to fit over them, but no need for glasses on short sighted people, as in most cases it'll be close enough.

[QUOTE=Careld;41082652]That will make fat burn good :v[/QUOTE] Maybe if you did HIIT while playing the game. Otherwise, I don't think so.

Didn't they already leech enough money off of Kickstarter?

[QUOTE=Erfly;41083229]For long sighted viewers, glasses would be needed, and the rift does have possible adjustments to fit over them, but no need for glasses on short sighted people, as in most cases it'll be close enough.[/QUOTE] IIRC it's actually the opposite. Since the Rift has lenses that make the eye focus to infinity (so as far as your eyes are concerned the image is far away), if you're long sighted you'll probably be fine, but short sighted people will need to wear glasses or use a different set of lenses that come with the Rift.