Consumer electronics producer Apple has begun discussions to acquire NextVR, a US-based virtual reality streaming service backed by a range of corporate investors, for about $100m, 9to5Mac reported on Saturday.
Founded in 2009, NextVR operates a virtual reality broadcasting service that delivers immersive live sports and entertainment events to VR headsets such as HTC’s Vive, Facebook’s Oculus Rift and Samsung’s Gear VR.
The company also holds more than 40 patents related to upscaling content –using algorithms to increase the resolution beyond that at which content was filmed – and it is this technology that is thought to be of particular interest to Apple.
An unnamed shell company formed earlier this year has begun hiring NextVR’s engineers. Although the deal is yet to close, some employees have been informed they will need to relocate from NextVR’s San Diego head office, possibly to Apple’s headquarters in elsewhere in California.
An acquisition would follow an unsuccessful attempt by NextVR to raise series C funding in early 2019, leading to the company cutting staff numbers by about 40%.
NextVR last raised money in 2016, when it secured $80m in a series B round featuring internet company NetEase, telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, IT services provider Citic Guoan Information Industry and Founder H Fund, an investment arm of technology conglomerate Founder Group.
The round also included live event promoters Madison Square Garden and Dick Clark Productions, mass media group Comcast and entertainment provider Time Warner, the latter two investing through subsidiaries Time Warner Investments and Comcast Ventures
Formation Group, RSE Ventures, CMC Holdings, VMS Investments Group, China Assets, Spectrum 28 and private investor Peter Gruber filled out the series B round.
Time Warner Investments, Comcast Ventures, Madison Square Garden, Dick Clark Productions, Formation Group, RSE and Gruber had already supplied $30.5m in series A funding for NextVR in 2015.
