Changing Realities for Business

Chapter 2. How to Make Your Best Investment and Development Bets in AR

There are several big questions addressed in this chapter. What is the business justification for augmented reality (AR)? How should you go about making your bets? Where should you focus your attention? I spoke with venture capitalists, investors, and AR builders to discover where they’re looking.

Their answers and insights offer an interesting peek into minds and strategies to which you may not have day-to-day access. And their individual areas of focus give insights about how the category is evolving.

Knowing where other people are looking (and not looking) can highlight new opportunities for you.

Understanding AR Evolution and How to Place Your Bets

Anselm Hook runs River Studios, a content shop within Rothenberg Ventures, a leading VC firm investing in AR. Formerly the firm’s technical advisor, Hook says he is beginning to see new technologies that prove to him that the space is advancing:

I saw the most amazing demo just a week ago: these guys can capture a copy of you, scale it to make it animated, and then—using the [Apple’s] ARKit—render it on top of the real world, so you have a digital version of you composited to the real world that they can control like a puppet.

The company, called Quantum Capture, is an excellent example of how far the industry has come. Holography is an important area of focus within the industry and a place to watch as it emerges. But that’s not the only area. Because the ...