Tech startups that are investigating new technologies such as AR, or space as a whole, are enhancing ads.
According to a new report, tech startups that are branching into entirely new areas such as virtual and augmented reality, drones, and space, have been generating tremendous financing through investments since 2014 and are also contributing into far more creativity n the ad industry.
A recent report indicated that since last year, there have been $3.15 billion in 183 deals in these areas.
The report was on an analysis conducted by CB Insights and it was released on Friday. What it indicated was that the types of tech companies – including everything from augmented reality to satellites and space – are a considerable draw for investments and are revealing a notable shift in the way that imagers are created. This allows ads to be delivered in an entirely new way and style.
In this way, augmented reality and other tech are starting to have a spreading impact on many industries.
Since 2014, companies that are focused on AR and virtual reality have managed to raise $1 billion. This tech reached a peak of $623 million in all of last year. During the first quarter of this year, that figure dropped to $114 billion. However, brands have now started some serious experimentation. Discovery, for example, which is working with AR technology and with virtual reality, will bring about the very first videos meant specifically for this type of tech.
The main launch worth discussing in this area, at the moment, is Discovery VR, which will be the very first virtual reality network. This service is being designed to be able to test the boundaries and capabilities of this tech. The first videos debut Thursday and are posted on the DiscoveryVR.com website, as well as on Android and iPhone apps, and on YouTube.
Virtual and augmented reality startups that have a specific focus on commercial uses represented 40 percent of all of the funding that has been received in this category since 2012, said the report. Some of the largest brands in AR, Blippar and Augment, for example, are among the examples of the businesses within that sub-category that received some considerable funding within that time.
That partnership with Microsoft aligned with the release of that high profile game and generated a considerable amount of attention. In that promotion, there were 500,000 limited edition boxes that featured the specially printed cover with the image of the game that would come to life when viewed through a smartphone or tablet. Customers animated the image through the use of the Blippar app and were able to interact with it in order to be able to enter into a sweepstakes as well as to view trailers for the game.