What's the vibe at Europe's XR events?

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: Xreal is now ready for preorder.

• Funding: A series of useful funding opportunities in the UK.

• Stat of the week: Meta lost $3.7bn last quarter in Reality Labs.

• Conversation-starter: The University of Tsukuba developed a non-contact way of replicating coldness in VR.

• Other stories: Meta and AWS are hosting a webXR hackathon, and Metaverse Safety Week begins on 10 December (more below).

Analysis

Quiet news this week, so here is an update on what I have been up to.

• I was at AWE EU, where I caught up with a number of companies (on background). My vibe from the event is that businesses are seeing slightly tougher economic conditions in line with lower spend on services. I also had the impression that we may see a spike in activity early next year - but reaching then may be a problem for some.

• While AWE is more businessy, then Stereopsia was more vibey. The European community is kind, and I was struck by how entrepreneurial and cash-efficient the Belgians are. What I now wonder about is business cross-synergy; how can investors see the efficient European firms who are doing some good work?

• What did you think of the events? Let me know via email at tom (at) immersive wire (dot) com and let’s chat.

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Other notable stories

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

• Atlantic Productions launched Galapagos with David Attenborough.

• AWE announced the finalists for the $200,000 XR Startup Pitch Contest for AWE EU.

• Meta and AWS are hosting a webXR hackathon.

• Metaverse Safety Week begins on 10 December.

• Microsoft shut the Airsim project and laid off team personnel.

• New Society announced a 500-page hardcover book that explores the impact of emerging technology on creative life.

• The Park Playground announced the release of its latest location-based VR escape room, The Break-in.

• Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Spaces, a platform to help build XR products.

• Raindance Immersive starts on 4 November.

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.

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.