HTC announced the second batch of companies joining its Vive X accelerator program. The companies hail from San Francisco, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Taipei and focus on different aspects of hardware and software development for VR and AR. HTC also said that the Vive X program will expand to Israel.
To say that HTC is raring to fund the next big thing in VR and AR would be an understatement. Vive X debuted in August 2016 with $100 million to invest in companies experimenting with VR and AR. Almost three dozen companies signed on between August 2016 and October 2016, when HTC announced that it was looking to support even more companies, and just a few months later the accelerator program has already signed on 60 startups.
Here's how the company described its goal in today's announcement:
We work with the most promising VR/AR companies to advance innovation and move the whole industry forward. We’re continuing to invest in and support the development of foundational platform services and hardware advancements, as well as expanding areas like enterprise, commerce, education, health, social, and eSports.
The companies joining Vive X run the gamut. Construct Studio is creating a VR experience called The Price of Freedom based on the CIA's mind-control-focused Project MK Ultra. Realiteer is working on cognitive behavior therapy programs to help treat depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health problems. And Limitless is developing the Limitless VR Creative Environment to let you create VR experiences while you're in VR.
Those are just some of the companies joining Vive X from San Francisco. Aurora AR in Shenzhen is working on glass optics and device design for AR, PlusOne in Beijing is developing artificial intelligence for AR that will help companies train employees to interact with customers, and TEGway is making flexible thermoelectric devices that are supposed to let you feel temperatures and pain within VR and AR experiences. (Don't sign us up for that one.)
You can find the full list of startups joining Vive X in this batch in HTC's announcement. Many others are focused on VR gaming, helping enterprise companies adopt XR, and the like. We expect to learn more about them as they go through the accelerator program. And, as if that weren't enough, we also expect to see more announcements from HTC regarding the Vive VR HMD and all the peripherals and content the company is making for it.
