Byond is launching a publishing platform that allows companies to create augmented reality, virtual reality, and 360-degree applications. It’s one more set of tools designed to encourage enterprises and brands to take the plunge into promising new technologies.
The Los Angeles-based startup has created the Byond Immersive Suite to make it easier for companies to create, upload, and publish immersive content. Byond says that no coding skills are required, and building content can take a matter of minutes. The product is available now.
Byond has been working on the tech for two years in Los Angeles and Israel, and it has been testing it for six months with brands and media companies. Paying customers include McCann, Coca-Cola, Samsung, HP, and Turner.
The company says that creating immersive media right now requires a lot of skill. And platform companies like Apple and Google have launched platforms to support AR, while others are supporting VR, which makes creating cross-platform apps more of a hassle. Brands and agencies usually can’t do the work themselves, so they hire VR and AR studios that specialize in making custom apps.
As part of the Immersive Suite, Byond has created solutions tailored to specific verticals, such as consumer engagement for brands, media consumption for publishers, and virtual store builders for ecommerce businesses, as well as immersive VR and AR tools for learning, training, and development.
“Byond offers a platform as a service to empower brands and agencies to create their own personalized interactive and immersive experiences,” said Eran Galil, the company’s founder and chief technology officer, in a statement. “By using the Byond Immersive Suite, we significantly reduce the complexity of creating, publishing, and analyzing new media applications across all multiple display and interaction devices.”
Byond’s initial closed beta reached 300,000 viewers and over 2 million immersive interactions across multiple industries and platforms. With the open beta phase, the company plans on scaling up the usage of its immersive reality content creation platform. Byond currently has 15 employees.
Source: Byond will help enterprises build AR, VR, and 360-degree experiences
