How to Invest in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality?
Searching for how to invest in virtual reality technology? You don’t have to be a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist to own a stake in this rapidly emerging new medium of technology. Below, we explore the various ways that entrepreneurs of all levels can directly invest in reality technologies. From building mixed reality applications, to venture investing equity stakes worth millions, entrepreneurs can begin investing in this technology at all income levels and ride the wave of reality technologies.
Learning, building, and owning a product (virtual or tangible) is one of the best investments one can make with his or her time. This is true for several reasons such as unlimited profit potential, execution of a good idea, and the intangible skills obtained when investing-in-yourself.
Whether it be a hardware or software product, the type of reality technology products that can be built are virtually endless. From building a game, to programming your own open-ended applications, the resources out there to help aspiring virtual reality developers are endless (e.g. Oculus Developer Center and Google Cardboard Developer Platform). Choosing to build content for reality products, you will benefit from the strong tailwind of the exploding software ecosystem around 3d content authoring. One should note that if you do build a product, make sure that it is pay-as-you-go model.
Monetary benefits aside, the residual benefits of building a product also tie into investing-in-yourself. If the reality technology market becomes even half as big as analysts predict, then you will have received a first-class education and experience of building a VR application/product in one of the most penetrating markets on earth. This means that should you decide to reenter the job market, you will have increased your marketability and value.
Venture Invest in a Promising Company
Reality technologies have the potential to affect every industry in the world and also create new industries that do not exist today. From an venture capital investment point of view, the upside potential of this technology becomes endless, but there are several things to look for before investing in a virtual reality startup , such as ensuring that the company is creating a product that will always be needed and is nimble enough to pivot if needed.
This method of virtual reality investing can have various levels of entry, with initial seed investments (as little as $5,000), up to Series A, B, C, D investments going into the millions. Aside from a purely monetary role, venture capitalists can play a more dynamic role, such as providing mentorship and/or providing introductions to other leaders in the field. If a virtual reality company is able to drive growth with promising results, a venture capitalists may opt to become a partner in the company, which includes owning a larger equity stake and/or joining the company’s board.
Invest in AR/ VR Stocks
Investing in reality technology related public companies (virtual and augmented reality stocks) is no different than investing in stocks in any other industry. The primary difference lies in the maturity of the overall Augmented/ Mixed/ Virtual Reality Market. The reality technology industry is receiving significant interest from developers, investors, and consumers, but it is still yet to be fully proven in mass-market adoption. Below, we explore several of the most prominent virtual reality stocks:
Facebook (FB) Stock
With its $2.3-billion purchase of startup Oculus VR Inc. in March 2014, Facebook Inc. made a big bet on the future of virtual reality. Many analysts predict that Facebook Inc. will eventually integrate virtual reality capabilities into its core social network platform. The idea behind this is to take the idea of connecting with people one step further beyond just messages and emojis. Imagine the possibilities when you can have virtual reality interactions with old friends from college or family on the other side of globe.
Alphabet (GOOG) Stock
As a pioneer for taking bold chances on disruptive technologies, it is no surprise that Alphabet has is staking its claim on the virtual and augmented reality market. It introduced it’s Google Glass Augmented Reality in roughly 2013 and hasn’t looked back since, with a recently introduced Google Cardboard virtual reality viewer for smartphones. Google predicts that the low-cost and simplicity of this device will catapult mass adoption of the greater field of reality technology.
Sony (SNY) Stock
A long established player in the gaming realm, Sony is pushing to be a leader in virtual reality movement with the launch of its PlayStation VR (also called PS VR) virtual reality headset in October 2016. Analysts expect the Playstation VR to do quite well due to the oncoming wave of virtual reality overall market growth and because it is a cheaper alternative to the competitor product Oculus Rift.
Whether it be a hardware or software product, the type of reality technology products that can be built are virtually endless. From building a game, to programming your own open-ended applications, the resources out there to help aspiring virtual reality developers are endless (e.g. 
