What began as a DreamWorks Animation project is now an Apple Inc. subsidiary. VR startup Spaces has been acquired by Cupertino, according to a report by Protocol.
Like many organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Spaces—which developed location-based VR experiences (including Terminator Salvation: Fight for the Future)—was forced to close its global centers and lay off employees. A small-business loan helped keep the lights on, and allowed Spaces to pivot into video conferencing software. The company, a self-described "bridge between the [virtual reality] world and Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and more," built a clever VR add-on that let users interact via animated avatars.
Can't be bothered to fix your hair or put on a clean top? No problem: Spaces made it easy for folks to host meetings from behind a cartoon face, created from a simple scan. As Engadget pointed out, "it may not have been particularly accurate, but it added another level of fidelity on top of the sometimes-artificial VR experience."
Details of the acquisition remain scant. In a boilerplate statement to Protocol, Apple all but confirmed the purchase, saying that the firm "buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
Spaces, meanwhile, announced plans to shutter on its website, writing that the startup is "heading in a new direction." "Thank you to our users and partners who participated in our awesome VR video conferencing product," it continued, "and the many people who enjoyed our VR location-based entertainment attractions found at theme parks, theaters, and more."
Further Reading
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- Microsoft Flight Simulator Is Adding VR Support This Year
- Facebook Discontinues Oculus Go to Focus on Oculus Quest, Rift VR Headsets
- Software Developer Thinks VR Caused His Eyesight to Degrade
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