Illumix, the Augmented Reality gaming and technology studio has received funding to the tune of $8.6 million dollars. With new advancements in AR technology updates like Wikitude’s SDK 8.1 and iOS 12, Augmented Reality is improving in quality and room reading capability. Illumix will put their efforts into developing their own mixed reality and mobile augmented reality games.
Funding for Illumix
Venture Beat reports that “The funding announced on Monday comes from venture capital firms Maveron and Lightspeed Venture Partners.” With “Radar Partners, and Unusual Ventures”, as well as, “451 Media, which Hollywood blockbuster director Michael Bay cofounded” also as investors.
AR’s Golden Moment
Investing in Augmented Reality companies like Illumix is a smart move since studios have found a variety of uses across industries. AR has come a long way. It’s being used in marketing, retail, entertainment, design, and tourism. In addition, AR is being used in safety and medical training.
Statista reports that by 2019 five billion people are expected to be smartphone users worldwide, and will have a worth of $133 billion by the year 2021 says Zion Market Research. Right now, AR investors are in a golden opportunity moment.
Presently, VR headset sales are climbing upwards, AR technology is still outperforming it. Why? First, more people are already equipped with smartphones than they are a PC ready computer. Next, the price of a VR headset and the cost of applications is high too. Also, AR is more financially and readily attainable to consumers with apps they can download directly to their phones.
AR Game Development
You’re probably wondering, what is the startup is going to do with the $8.6 million? Next Reality announces that Illumix will be “developing its products and partnerships” and will be “building its game development team” of 11 into a larger group.
Mobile users will be excited to read that the studio will release two games in 2019. Mobile gamers can expect that Illumix will create AR games that are “highly engaging experiences that borrow dynamics from traditional role-playing games (RPGs) and combine them with story elements from well-known Intellectual Properties.” says Lightspeed.
Will this franchise have something to do with Michael Bay perhaps? Whichever franchise a game is based on, we’re sure that they will be using the most up-to-date technologies. Illumix’s mobile gaming system is “environmentally-intelligent”. Meaning, it doesn’t need to map out and geo-locate a player’s game space. Mostly, we’re looking forward to experiencing an RPG-esque AR game.
Kirin Sinha, Illumix’s CEO, told Next Reality that “First and foremost, we are a game company and not a tech provider” and that “A key advantage is that technologically, we have focused always from the user point of view, asking ourselves what makes a great AR game and building backwards to the technology from there. Additionally, vertical integration with our games is a differentiator.”
The Future
We can’t wait to see what new and intellectual property backed games and AR technology Kirin Sinha and her team at Illumix will bring to Augmented Reality. Most importantly, recent advances in environment reading software development, it looks like their games won’t be anything like Pokémon Go.
