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I would be lying if I said that mixed realism and generative AI were two of my favorite thing . And yet , a Christmas Day TV special made me unexpectedly bullish about them . — Anna
Versailles 400
I am not an early adopter of the metaverse . The only VR headset I own ismade of cardboard , and I have n’t felt the motivation for a better one yet — perhaps because I am not a gamer , either . But I am quick for things to change in 2024 , with Modern miscellaneous - realness experiences that cater to the great unwashed like me .
I got a signified of what these novel experiences could look like on Christmas Day , as I watched a unequaled show that took seat at Versailles to observe its 400th day of remembrance . ( depend on your localisation , you may be able tocheck it out here . )
The brainchild of French electronic music groundbreaker Jean - Michel Jarre , the show boast his full-grown hits , but also telling visuals mix the IRL audience with practical avatars , all commingle together in the castle ’s famous Hall of Mirrors . I lie with that VR showscould be fun , but I was still wowed .
Since I do n’t have a VR headset , I watched the show on TV , not as an avatar . But that was probably the right call this time around anyway : While it was n’t obvious in the livestream , the VR side of things was a dupe of its own success , leave manyunable to join .
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VRROOM(pronounced Vroom ) , the Gallic startup in charge of the immersive experience , explicate on Xthat “ the consuming output , a will to Jean Michel Jarre ’s incredible fan base , unfortunately led to our servers being overloaded . ” It is now do work on organizing VR replays with a ticketing organization to better deal demand , its COO Maud Clavier told me .
Despite these hiccups , Jarre ’s latest try was also an opportunity to showcase VR founding from France , and not just from VRROOM.Lynx R-1 , the interracial - reality headset thatplayed a primal rolein his public presentation by permit him see both “ world ” at the same clock time , is the flagship gimmick of French inauguration Lynx .
While Lynx ’s chief executive officer Stan Larroquewroteon LinkedIn that he was still “ pinching [ himself ] that * this * happen , ” December 25 , 2023 , was n’t the fellowship ’s first moment in the spot . Lynx and VRROOM are part of theFrench Tech 2030cohort , a batch of 125 emerge companies from various sectors awarded with particular supporting from Gallic institutions .
The two companies may be considered effective in class when it comes to French VR , but all across the country , there ’s a full group of caller and organizations working on AR , VR and mixed - reality technology — often encompassed under the umbrella terminus of “ extended reality , ” or XR .
Aside from her theatrical role at VRROOM , Clavier is also president atCNXR , a trade organisation defend Gallic XR . This gives her a front seat to a sphere in which she believe France excels “ technically and artistically . ” However , startups are struggling to get funded , and 2023 was a “ unmanageable year , ” she said .
Big dogs and underdogs
Having received several eccentric of public subsidies , VRROOM has less to worry about than some of its peers , but it still ask to picture out how to best detain economically afloat until it becomes profitable .
Once amply live , VRROOM should be able to monetize its platform through a premix of ticketing , virtual merchandising and product placement . But the team knows it ca n’t outright lookup for the $ 20 million Clavier sees as “ necessary to launching a world . ” or else , its current goal is to lift $ 6 million in seed funding to make it to the milestone that could unlock a Series A turn .
As for Lynx , it already put up € 6.5 million , in addition to the € 725,000 brought by its initial Kickstarter campaign . But as the startuppointed out , Meta spentbillionson its Reality Labs over the same menstruum .
Even then , it direct until August 2023 for Meta avatarsto have legs , and only in beta . No admiration Lynx had to make “ every single cent numeration ” to launch its Lynx R-1 headset , which is price at $ 849 in its standard version and $ 1,299 in its enterprise version .
While not crummy , the Lynx R-1 is less expensive than Apple ’s upcoming $ 3,499 Vision Pro , with which it share similarity and which is bruit to be launchingeither later this month or in early February . Meanwhile , my colleague Brian Heater expects that within XR , all eyes will be focusedon mixed realityat CES this year .
apart from the focus shift toward potent fundamental interaction between substantial and virtual element , Apple ’s entry into the XR space could cause renewed pastime for all things metaverse . Perhaps what it needed all along was actual employment cases , whether that ’s in enterprise or in other fields .
Specialization , Clavier thinks , will make the metaverse sphere healthy and make it possible for companies to stand out in their field . This could be euphony , but alsomental healthor edtech , for instance .
In notes she shared for our upcoming investor resume on edtech , Day One Ventures founderMasha Bucherpredicted a “ ( re)emergence of the metaverse , ” which she expects will inflate the on-going break “ toward a more immersive acquisition experience . ”
Of course , generative AI can add a Modern dimension to this , too . Jean - Michel Jarre and VRROOM have thoughts on this as well , so I am curious to see what they come up with next .
