Oculus Rift is really catching the imagination of the tech industry and the company has raised $75 million in another round of funding.
Stepping in with the cash is Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz venture capital. Marc Andreeseen was the founder of Netscape in case you were wondering.
This is just the latest round of investment in the VR tech company which had previously raised $2.4 million through Kickstarter and $16 million in a previous round of funding which included investment from Spark Capital, Matrix Partners and Formation|8.
The funding will be used by Oculus to increase staff levels and help get the consumer version of the Rift completed and out to consumers. Oculus chief executive Brendan Iribe commented on the funding at the GamesBeat 2013 conference.
“Over the past 16 months, we’ve grown from a start-up to a company whose virtual reality headset is poised to change the way we play, work and communicate. 40,000 developers and enthusiasts, as well as a number of great partners, have joined our cause and helped us bring the seemingly impossible to life. This additional infusion of capital, as well as the leadership and experience of Marc Andreessen, will help us take the final steps toward our ultimate goal: making virtual reality something consumers everywhere can enjoy.”
There’s no doubt that Oculus VR and the Rift are making gamers and the tech industry sit up and take notice but at this point it’s too early to say whether consumers are ready for VR. Oculus still has a lot of work to do on improving the Rift with higher resolutions being high on their priority list.
Not everyone is convinced by VR. The Shark Tank video we posted a few days ago in which Virtuix Omni failed to secure investment shows that people still need convincing.
Tim is our resident Oculus tester and you can read his initial thoughts on the developer kit version in his recent article.
Thanks Venturebeat.
