VR encountered in the first year to bubble: 2017 startup company life or death?

Wang Hui was standing in the corner of Hall 1 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. He appeared to be quite "impatient."

Citizens experience VR game equipment

What makes Wang Hui proud is that around his company, people who have been eager to experience VR (virtual reality) equipment are surrounded by huge amounts of people. "If I don't have the wrong statistics, this child has already experienced our products three times in the morning at our library."

Wang Hui is a project director of a company specializing in VR entertainment. "Because the hardware of the new VR is very mature and cannot be profitable, one of the biggest obstacles is content. Our content is made by ourselves. I am offline. Content distribution platform, I have enough content, from the profit point of view, there is no problem."

At the just-concluded 18th China Hi-Tech Fair, there are many companies that share the same VR field as Wang Hui. They are bringing their VR products and equipment to the Hi-tech Fair. Many citizens who come to the Hi-tech Fair are attracted attention. Exhibitors had no choice but to queue them up. For a time, VR products and equipment appeared to be very hot. So what is the actual situation? The reporter began to investigate.

VR Pavilion is hot

Manufacturer: Project grounding gas accepted

In 2016, known as the first year of VR, VR became a hot topic in the world. This time, one of the biggest focuses of the High-Tech Fair is obviously not less VR.

From November 16 to November 21, the week-long high-tech fair was opened. In an interview in the past week, the reporter found that one of the biggest traffic points was the VR experience hall. Many citizens queued up long queues in the museum. The front wall is a thick wall.

Reporters at the scene of the High-Tech Fair saw that various VR devices set up in various experience halls are used in various applications. There are VR head controls combined with treadmills to experience virtual stepping on bicycles, and VR head display with infrared sensors can experience the virtual world with direct control of the world by hand. The change (that is, the page jump), the most common is the experience hall mode, with VR head display combined with hand or somatosensory equipment, put on a helmet, you directly into the game world, or directly in place to sit a thrilling A roller coaster ride.

Wang Hui was responsible for the museum, in the exhibition a few days, all kinds of VR experience products have been captured by people, deeply loved by consumers. “Like this kid, according to my observations, this morning we have come to the exhibition in our library three times. This is the fourth time. Based on this situation, I have good content and interesting content. He will continue to play over and over."

Compared with VR medical projects, positioning VR entertainment is more acceptable to consumers. Wang Hui bluntly said that in fact, to do VR, cut into the project needs grounding gas before it can be accepted by the general public.

“To do VR now, regardless of whether it is doing VR hardware or software companies, the market is catching up. When you grab a bunch of things, every software and content you make in different companies cannot apply to the general public. Audience, VR technology is a lot of young people know that in the VR medical field, many young people will not go for physical examination for a year, but for games and entertainment, they are very easy to participate."

Citizens experience VR game equipment

80% entrepreneurial team does not make money?

Investors: Venture team valuations are indeed declining

Half of the "flames" and half of them are "seawater." Compared with the VR hot in the high-tech fair, the reporter investigated a number of VR makers, the survival of entrepreneurs is not easy.

Wang Hui told reporters that VR began to get hot in September last year. At that time, many entrepreneurial teams obtained financing. Now, basically a lot of them can't be seen in one year.

"You said there were 100 last year. You may see 20 this year. 80% of you don't know why it went. Because it died. First, it has no profit, and it will die. Second, the rest The 20% may also be insisting on seeing this industry slowly sticking to it and going through this phase.”

For the "80% of the Maker team is dead" point of view, a company based in Shenzhen, less than 20 start-up teams, focusing on VR companies, said that to say that "80% of the Maker team died" in one year He did not agree with this view, but said that "80% of the make-up team is hard to make money." He very much agrees that "Our company was founded less than a year ago, has its own VR R & D team, both hardware and software. I can't say I don't make money. I did make some money but I don't have much money. I need financing now."

“Entrepreneurs are not so easy to die because they will not easily let their team disappear when they look for directions.” In response, CEO of the startup Fireworks Workshop, Dianchi, said that there is no specific statistics. However, at the same time, he also believes that before the business model matures, which team does not have much room for survival.

In fact, the worst news for VR startup teams is that capital’s enthusiasm for them is waning. According to statistics, compared with the high VR investment sentiment in capital in the first quarter of this year, VR startups have been on the brink of financing since May.

According to statistics from the ultra-dimensional planet, only four or five VR startups in China have successfully raised funds from June to August, which is in marked contrast with the VR market in the first quarter. From January to March of this year, 18 VR startups in China have obtained investment. Among them, the January 21st storm mirror B rounds up 260 million yuan, and the cloud cloud software purchases 3 VR companies with 460 million yuan, both domestically. Record.

It is rumored that the VR-related stocks in the domestic secondary market have been affected by the decline in stock prices. Currently, the valuation of domestic VR startups is generally reduced by 3 to 40% compared with January to March.

In this regard, Wei Xu, investment manager of Hejun Capital's VR Fund believes that it is not known that the valuation of domestic VR startups has generally been reduced by 3 to 40% compared with January to March. However, the valuation of domestic VR startup teams is actually higher than before. Something lower.

Wei Xu explained the reasons to the reporter in detail from three aspects. One of the reasons she believes is that since May of this year, the SFC has strictly controlled the listed companies' cross-definition acquisitions or raised funds to invest in the VR industry. The listed companies had previously been pulled high. The main capital of the VR industry valuation, the market less major players.

“In addition, in the expected slowdown of the domestic economy, VC funds are generally expected to increase the difficulty in the second half of the year or next year, and the capital will tend to be cautious. The third is that after a period of investment boom, the recent VR industry lacks good investment targets.”

On November 15, the first University Student Drone Innovation Competition competed in the Huangpu Sports Center. The player uses the VR glasses to control the drones to participate in the obstacle game.

Case 1

The key to making VR+ apps profitable is to find your own business model.

On the scene of the High-tech Fair, the Phantom Star is one of the VR booths. Phantom Star belongs to Guangzhou Zhuoyuan Machinery Co., Ltd. This company is a high-tech enterprise. Founded in 1999, it focuses on the machinery industry. In 2011, the company began to transform production and sales of virtual simulation entertainment equipment. Since last year, it has also joined the VR industry.

Switch to VR games has been profitable

Director of the company Wan Weiguo introduced that the company started to produce virtual simulation entertainment equipment mainly in the field of 5D/7D. Now it is mainly in the field of VR games, including early hardware manufacturing development, software development, overall solutions, products including VR game treadmill, 9DVR and other virtual Real product.

For the company to enter the VR industry, Wan Shuguo expressed no surprise. As a company focusing on the game field, it has been exploring and applying virtual simulation devices such as 5D/7D for several years. Because the company has a mechanical technology hardware foundation and is not a start-up company, "changing" is actually relatively smooth.

But entering this field, it is better to focus on what to do, which was once a problem of their "lost period." As a large-scale company, the internal ecology has been formed, and it is inevitable that everything will want to be done. Therefore, there is doubt as to which direction to focus on. In the end, considering that the core of the company is the link service for content providers and franchise operators, they are moving into the VR field along the original direction. At present, in terms of content, the first fund of RMB 65 million will be invested in the middle of this year as an “accelerant” for the production of high-quality content. In terms of services, offline experience stores will grow at a rate of nearly 200 per month. In addition, the company has been profitable since entering the field of virtual simulation games, including VR games, in 2013. Wan Weiguo feels that the company's exploration progressed smoothly.

VR is involved in real estate, education, tourism, medical care

According to Zhang Dawei, the company’s business manager, Guangzhou Panyu was the land of game consoles in the early days, and the equipment shell shape was fully equipped, which was equivalent to the “silicon valley” of the game console. Since 2015, VR has been hot, and they are paying attention to the 5D/7D game field as much as they are.

Wan Weiguo believes that this is not to illustrate the blindness of game companies, but a direction and industry trends.

There is nothing wrong with the feeling of Wan Weiguo. Dr. Jiang Chun, CEO of Media DreamWorks, recently released the 2016 China VR Industry Report, which shows that games are indeed the first consumer field to embrace VR technology. Compared to VR applications in other industries, the game will be the first consumer market to develop. It is expected that the number of global VR game users will reach 7 million in 2020, and VR-related software revenue will reach 6.9 billion US dollars.

Not only the game industry has started to make a big splash in VR, and other industries have also seen VR. Real Estate, Education, Tourism, Medical... Shenzhen Jingmin Digital Machine Co., Ltd. is focusing on VR experience equipment. This company, which was rated as a national high-tech enterprise in 2015, has been involved in the field of VR since 2014. The company’s market manager, Sun Li, introduced that in the VR tourism industry, the company has already collaborated with other places such as Window of the World and OCT East to experience the experience. Education and training are also under negotiation. According to Sun Li, there are not many domestic VR applications like them.

VR applications are still exploring business models

However, Sun Li analyzes that at present domestic VR applications are in a simple application, trying and exploring the stage of the business model. This coincides with the report's analysis. According to the analysis of the report, VR applications in many areas are still far from profit because of the technical level and the initial trials.

In contrast, Wan Weiguo believes that although the current phantom starry sky continues to be explored, the key to profitability is finding a business model that suits itself. This is where companies interested in pursuing VR applications should pay attention.

Case 2

VR large shuffle eliminated companies are mostly no core technology

During the exhibition, the 3G Lasses booth of Shenzhen Virtual Reality Technology Co., Ltd. is undoubtedly one of the most popular booths. The 3Glasses exhibited new headlines for its pre-sale in June this year. Coordinated with the large screen of the game screen, the device successfully attracted many visitors to stop and try.

Previously called virtual simulation

In 2012, it has made headlines

According to Jiang Jinqiong, Glasses Public Relations Manager, the new head is the first domestic head-mounted device that uses a custom-built binocular VR dedicated screen. Xin Xianxian is the third generation of the company's first display, for the first time for the general public to promote sales.

Before that, in fact, 3Glasses had already started to make headway in 2012 before VR blew up the world in 2015. 3Glasses hatch from Jingwei. Founder Wang Jie founded Jingwei in 2005 to provide 3D simulation and customized solutions for architectural design and smart cities.

Before VR did not appear, everyone called this area virtual simulation. In the exploration of technology, Wang Jie discovered that in the era of no hardware, everyone moved the mouse and tapped the keyboard. The sight in front of him was not vivid enough to show it in full view. VR emphasizes the sense of substitution. At the end of 2012, Wang Jie decided to develop a VR device—the PC helmet. Since few people were exploring this field at the time, the development of the PC helmet was “crossing the river by feeling the stones”, including screens, algorithms, and delays. Conquered.

Low-end products make people

It is easier to understand VR

In 2013, the first generation of VR helmet research and development, Wang Jie also decided to mass production. At this point VR is also starting to fire around the world. 3Glasses' second-generation VR helmet was released in 2015. In the same year, several companies entered the VR field. 3Glasses is equivalent to the founder of domestic VR headlight industry applications. The first and second generations belong to the development machine and are more oriented to developers, motion picture theaters, and game hall practitioners. The third generation of the two products is the first attempt to face ordinary consumers, and the current sales volume is good. However, Jiang Jinqiong estimated that the consumer groups are still concentrated on developers and enthusiasts, and there are fewer ordinary consumers.

It is understood that the core technology of VR lies in three characteristics, immersive, interactive and conceivable. At present, the three major VR head-display manufacturers in the world are HTC, Sony, and Oculus. However, in fact, both domestic and international technologies are comparable. From the point of view of the head display parameters, some technologies still exceed foreign countries. 2015-2016 VR broke out, a large number of companies were eliminated in a round of reshuffle, and now the remaining few companies have done a good job of technology.

Jiang Jinqiong said that the companies that have dropped out do not rule out that because there is no core technology, such as low-cost VR products, low-end products such as mobile phones and the like. According to Jiang Jinqiong, in fact, previous insiders were worried about the bubble. Originally thought that low-end products such as mobile phone boxes were worried that they would erode the market and people thought that VR was not the case and had a bad influence. However, it was later discovered that this is a double-edged sword. Although low-end, because of low prices, the threshold is low, making it easier for people to recognize VR.

Hardware configuration has been set

Content is still weak

Jiang Jinqiong said that the current hardware configuration of VR helmets has basically been set, but the content is still weak. Since content creation has not yet formed a virtuous circle of profit, the quality of VR content is uneven. There are now more than 700-1000 content developers and more than 300 types of content on the platform. She feels that the content quality score can be more than qualified.

Jiang Jinqiong introduced that although VR is not currently a new thing in the industry, it is in a stage where the general public is aware, and its quality should be an iterative process. The iterative process of their current products is an iteration of seven to eight months. . The development of VR can be analogized to mobile phones. In the future, their content quality is getting better and better, their weight is getting lighter, they wear comfortably, and they eventually become the size of glasses. At that time, the popularity of VR has been completed, and people can accept the use of VR in real life like a mobile phone.

Jiang Jinqiong described that the current VR technology is actually equivalent to a "little friend", touch VR, olfactory VR, and even VR social, including the entire human sense are immersed in virtual reality, which also requires a process to achieve the development of these technologies, Although I do not know when it will be achieved, it is expected that VR will indeed subvert people's imagination and life.

Maker observation

Investment enthusiasm has cooled but the prospect of VR industry is still promising

Speaking of the current status of VR industry at home and abroad, Chairman of the Shenzhen VR Industry Association Tan Yiguo said in an interview that from the current capital VR investment point of view, the VR industry at home and abroad is indeed in a de-bubble process.

Millet VR box, you will experience it?

Wei Xu said that before rumored a rumors, it is now the winter of capital. In fact, when any technology emerges, people will overestimate its short-term value, so when it first appears, there will certainly be such a boom. Everyone will invest and everyone will invest. Some so-called bubbles.

"VR defoaming is not only reflected in Huaqiangbei, which mimics low-end products, but also represents giant companies that represent the trend of VR industry innovation. The performance of VR has not met expectations. Nowadays, VR's popularity is as good as that of ordinary consumers. It's relatively flat," said a senior VR observer in Shenzhen.

"Even if Huawei and Xiaomi have launched VR boxes, will you experience it?" The above-mentioned senior VR industry observer asked the reporter.

In fact, I was initially asked this question. As an interviewer, I was taken aback. The answer is naturally “no”. From the daily topics of the people around me, I can directly realize that at present, VR is indeed not as hot as before.

Technology giants have entered the field of VR

However, from a more macro perspective, although the investor’s investment in VR is affected by policies and the environment in the short term, investment enthusiasm has cooled down, but analysts are still optimistic about the prospect of VR industry.

A report of AR and VR data released by IDC in August this year shows that they still sang more.

The aforementioned AR and VR data report released by IDC in August this year predicts that global AR and VR industry revenue will increase from 5.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to 162 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.

In this context, various technology giants have entered the VR field to launch their own VR products.

Taking overseas as an example, on October 4th this year, Google introduced DaydreamView helmets, somatosensory handles, and Daydreamready's Pixel phones at its annual new product launch. Soon ordinary users only need to spend 200 yuan, buy a Cardboard helmet plus a handle, with a Daydream mobile phone can have a good VR experience.

In addition, on October 26th this year, Microsoft held a new product launch conference, launched a 299-dollar VR helmet, and provided software such as Paint 3D and Creators Update to make 3D production simple and easy for anyone to use. Everyone will now simply use the Office productivity software and let everyone become content builders.

Domestically, Huawei, Xiaomi and other giants have launched their own VR products. In addition, there are many small and medium-sized companies in the country that continue to struggle in the VR field.

2017 VR ecological initial molding?

A VC investor said that, in fact, capital is invested in this (VR) market and it will take some time to develop. If it is impossible to get money, it will be impossible to achieve results. These entrepreneurial teams get After the money, it is a process of gradual development. "VR does have a relatively large market. Otherwise, there will not be so many people visiting at the high-tech fair."

“After the giants at home and abroad and small and medium-sized start-up companies have launched their own products for the market, it is time for each product to test the node next year,” or “2017 is the first year of VR ecology.”

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