The players in VR

Jaunt

North Face used Jaunt technology on a virtual reality experience in stores that simulated rock climbing and base jumping.. Photo by: Getty Images

Headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif.
Key executive: Jens Christensen, CEO and founder
Notable work: The 3-year-old company, featuring several former executives of Lucasfilm Ltd., has been active in sports and entertainment, helping power virtual reality content and experiences for entities such as the NFL and San Francisco Giants, and artists such as Paul McCartney, Jack White and the Grateful Dead.

LiveLike
Headquarters: New York
Key executives: Andre Lorenceau, CEO and co-founder; Saswat Panda, CTO and co-founder; Jeremie Lasnier, creative director and co-founder; Fabrice Lorenceau, head of production and co-founder
Notable work: One of the winners of the recent 1st and Future competition held by the NFL and TechCrunch during Super Bowl week, LiveLike has been particularly active in tennis, supporting virtual reality content from tournaments such as the French Open and the BNP Paribas Open.

Mandt VR
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Key executive: Neil Mandt, Mandt VR head
Notable work: Mandt VR is an outgrowth of Hollywood TV and film production company Mandt Bros., whose credits include “Million Dollar Arm” and “Rome Is Burning.” The company has experimented in both live and post-produced virtual reality content, with clients including Oklahoma State University and Chip Ganassi Racing.

NextVR
Headquarters: Laguna Beach, Calif.
Key executives: Brad Allen, executive chairman; DJ Roller, co-founder; David Cole, co-founder
Notable work: One of the most prominent companies in a virtual reality ecosystem still in its infancy, NextVR holds a five-year pact with Fox Sports that paves the way for live virtual reality productions in a variety of sports, including auto racing and boxing. NextVR also last fall closed on a $30.5 million round of funding that included heavyweights such as Comcast, Time Warner, Madison Square Garden and sports industry mogul Peter Guber.

Oculus VR
Headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif.
Key executives: Palmer Luckey, founder; Brendan Iribe, CEO; Laird Malamed, COO
Notable work: It was Facebook’s much-discussed $2 billion purchase of Oculus a little more than two years ago that in many ways launched virtual reality into the industry mainstream. The company is now a leading producer of virtual reality headsets, with its Oculus Rift being a dominant entry in the consumer market, and the Gear VR in partnership with Samsung.

Ryot

Ryot staff work a virtual reality production. Photo by: Getty Images

Headquarters: Venice, Calif.
Key executives: Bryn Mooser, co-founder and CEO; Gabriel Lifton-Zoline, COO
Notable work: Focused heavily on documentary and news-oriented virtual reality projects, Ryot was recently acquired by Verizon-owned AOL and positioned under fellow AOL entity The Huffington Post. In its four years of existence, Ryot has already earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary short.

Strivr
Headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif.
Key executives: Derek Belch, CEO and co-founder; Jeremy Bailenson, chief visionary and co-founder; Trent Edwards, vice president of team operations and co-founder; Brian Murphy, co-managing partner of Strivr Studios and CFO; Logan Mulvey, co-managing partner of Strivr Studios
Notable work: Born out of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab that has done groundbreaking research on virtual reality, Strivr has quickly made a name for itself as a go-to source of sports training products using the technology. From that base, Strivr earlier this year created a division devoted to virtual reality production and fan experiences.

Voke VR
Headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif.
Key executives: Sankar Jayaram, CEO and president; Jeff Jonas, chief commercial officer; Uma Jayaram, COO and EVP
Notable work: Another major player in live virtual reality productions, Voke has worked with the Sacramento Kings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington State Cougars, and recently collaborated with Turner Sports on a live production of the Final Four in the enhanced format. The Capital One-sponsored production was a first for the men’s college basketball championship. Voke also recently closed on a $12.5 million round of venture capital funding led by Intel Capital.

Vrse
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Key executives: Chris Milk, co-founder and CEO; Aaron Koblin, co-founder and CTO
Notable work: The creation of film director Milk and technologist Koblin, Vrse has been active across entertainment, politics and news gathering, with early clients including The New York Times, United Nations and U2.