A syndicate of Asian technology companies and investment funds "are pouring money into a Laguna Beach, Calif., company that broadcasts events live in virtual reality," according to Cat Zakrzewski of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. NextVR Inc. has raised $80M in Series B funding "to expand its platform that has broadcast events, including a Coldplay concert, presidential debates and the Kentucky Derby, in virtual reality." As startups "seek to make content for the nascent virtual-reality industry, corporate investors -- especially from China -- are behind some of the largest deals." NextVR Exec Chair Brad Allen said, "The U.S. is excited about VR. But China is even more excited about VR." New investors "include China Assets Holdings Ltd., Citic Guoan Information Industry Co., CMC Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong, Founder H Fund Co., NetEase Inc. and VMS Investment Group Ltd., all of China; as well as Japan’s SoftBank Corp. and San Francisco-based Spectrum 28 Capital LLC." NextVR investor and Comcast Ventures Managing Dir Michael Yang said, "Smart Chinese money wants early access to the best VR companies in order to drive this trend in China" (WSJ, 8/9).
