Aonic acquires nDreams for close to $110m

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Headline: Aonic acquires nDreams for close to $110m (analysis below).

• AI: Generative AI is coming to its immersive Microsoft Teams meetings.

• Interesting read: The pain is real. The painkillers are virtual reality.

• Immersive Tech Week: Heading there too? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Other stories: AWE Asia 2024 will happen on 27-28 August, and Frost & Sullivan gave an assessment on the metaverse and Europe (more below).

Analysis

Aonic acquires nDreams for close to $110m.

• This is a large chunk of money at a time when XR-related firms are struggling to raise finances during the permafrost.

• nDreams will continue its trajectory under familiar leadership, with co-founders Patrick and Tamsin O’Luanaigh (Chief Executive Officer and Chief People Officer respectively) remaining in their positions.

• “We set up nDreams in 2006, pivoted to focus exclusively on VR games in 2013, and we’re proud of everything we’ve achieved as an independent company,” said Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO of nDreams. “After 18 months of working together, we’re confident we’ve found the right partner in Aonic. This is the right moment to welcome their support to strengthen our position even further, and seize this critical moment for VR and MR.”

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Other notable stories

Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Atlas, a 3D generative AI platform, launched after two years in stealth.

• AWE Asia 2024 will happen on 27-28 August.

• Dorsey Pictures and Meta are bringing an immersive concert series from the Red Rocks Amphitheater, exclusively available on Meta Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley.

• Frost & Sullivan gave an assessment on the metaverse and Europe.

• Immersal announced a partnership with Burst, an XR fan experience company.

• The Metaverse Spectrum Conference is happening on 6 and 7 December.

• Naer announced its partnership with Miro and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

• Qualcomm Technologies, in partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, revealed a VR experience titled ‘VIP Garage Tour.’

• Racket Club will have a mixed reality mode and will come out on 14 December.

• VictoryXR is the only XR institution named as a semifinalist for the $1m Yass Prize.

Help corner

If you have a problem that you think could be solved by another reader of The Immersive Wire and would like to be connected, let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Haven, a VR wellness company I am advising, is raising $1m in their pre-seed round to redefine wellness through XR. Find out more on their LinkedIn or website.

• Valkyrie Industries is looking for a collaborative PhD to help with VR and muscle stimulation for rehabilitation.

A few colleagues are also looking for new roles. They include:

• Everett Wallace has extensive experience in XR, building strategy and driving new business in consumer-facing industries, with a speciality in entertainment/media.

• Jay Parekh is a cross-industry strategy consultant with expertise in business & market research, data analysis, insight generation, and strategy formulation.

• Tyler Gillespie is a design expert who is looking to build products internally. 

• Volodymyr Kurov is a full-stack developer looking to help with web development and coding.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.