Pixvana, maker of the Spin Studio cloud-based mixed-reality storytelling platform, has raised $14 million in a new round of funding.
Vulcan Capital led the round, with participation from new investors Raine Ventures, Microsoft Ventures, Cisco Investments, and Hearst Ventures, along with existing investor Madrona Venture Group.
“We are thrilled to work with this amazing group of investors backing us, to realize our vision of XR storytelling,” said Forest Key, Pixvana CEO, in a statement. “Faster iteration and blending of video and 3D content will allow creatives, brands, and media companies to create amazing XR experiences. More announcements, like the recent devices for Windows MR and Oculus Go, will create a rapidly expanding market for XR video experiences.”
Seattle-based Pixvana’s mission is to enable anyone to create and distribute next-generation video experiences. Spin Studio accelerates the production and delivery of interactive mixed reality content (virtual reality, augmented reality, or cross reality — also known as XR) at up to 8K resolution.
“There is tremendous opportunity in the XR video space, and it is clear that outstanding content and storytelling tools will define this new medium, ” said Stuart Nagae, general partner at Vulcan Capital, in a statement. “We think that Pixvana has an extraordinary team that really understands how to deliver cinematic, immersive experiences in XR and can build a software-as-a-service business at scale.”
Spin Studio supports a variety of AR and VR headsets, and it handles everything from stitching to editing, publishing, and playback in one seamless workflow. Spin Studio offers creative tools for XR storytelling, including customized templates and interactive hyperports.
Pixvana has 24 employees, and it has raised $20 million to date.
“We committed to using XR video to pitch our company to investors in an experience we called Sofia (as an homage to Sofia Coppola),” said Key, in an email to VentureBeat. “If XR storytelling is the disruptive, inevitable, mass communication medium that we believe it to be, why not demonstrate its potential for our own business? All of the more than 50 investors that saw the Sofia experience noted that this was the first time anyone had seen an XR pitch. Several investors commented that they felt like this was a glimpse of the future of fundraising.”
This post by Dean Takahashi originally appeared on VentureBeat.
Tagged with: pixvana
Source: Pixvana Raises $14 Million For Cloud-based Storytelling Platform Spin Studio
