AR & VR industry news & highlights for November 2021

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The AWE Weekly Spatial is a newsletter that curates the most exciting news within the XR industry each week. If you are not yet subscribed or wish to stay up to date with the VR/AR/MR happenings make sure to subscribe to the Weekly Spatial for the most relevant news delivered to your inbox every Friday.

The Monthly blog post below highlights

the news we captured in the previous month.

November 2021 Highlights

Metaverse

Niantic Announces ‘Lightship’ and Reveals Its Vision for a ‘Real-World Metaverse’. (TechCrunch)
8th Wall Introduces Reality Engine—a Platform to Power the Metaverse. (ar.rocks)
GTC 2021: Omniverse Avatar, CuQuantum, Clara Holoscan and More. (VentureBeat)
Gemini Raises $400 Million To Build A Metaverse. (Forbes)

Hardware

Huawei Launches VR Glass 6DoF Headset. (XR Today)

Entertainment

Epic Games Forges Partnership with Harmonix. (XR Today)
HaptX Announces $4M Credit Facility from Crescent Cove Advisors to Accelerate Development of its Haptic Products. (Auganix)

Enterprise

Nreal Light AR Glasses Hit U.S Verizon Stores on November 30. (VentureBeat)
Niantic Announces $300M Investment from Coatue. (Auganix)

Spatial Insights

Will this metaverse access device reach $22 billion in revenue by 2025? (ARInsider)
Can this AR leader help local businesses generate foot traffic? (ARInsider)

XR Market

Enterprise

Samsung Invests in DigiLens XR Glasses Firm at Valuation Over $500M. (VentureBeat)
€40,000 Prize Fund for VR Researchers and Content Creators. (XRRA 2021)
Unity Buys $1.6B Stake in Weta Digital Studio. (XR Today)
Help Lightning Acquires AR Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration Platform Fieldbit. (Auganix)

Platforms & Tools

Threedium Secures $2.1M in Pre-Series A Funding. (Auganix)
Ultraleap Raises ~$81M in Series D Funding Round. (Auganix)
Resolution Games Acquires Zero Index and Makes Multiple Strategic Hires. (Auganix)

Hardware

Dispelix Closes $33M in Series B Funding. (Auganix)

Software

Dent Reality Raises $3.4M. (Road to VR)

Entertainment

Sandbox VR Prepares for Expansion Following $37M Fundraise. (VentureBeat)
Social VR Startup HIKKY Raises $57M Investment Led by NTT Docomo. (Road to VR)

Launches & Announcements

Enterprise

LG's U+ DRIVE to Create 3,000 XR Assets by January. (XR Today)
DPVR Announces Partnership with Travel Africa Network to Provide Virtual Reality Solutions to Help Promote Tourism in Africa. (Auganix)

Metaverse

As Nvidia Pushes for Leadership in the Metaverse, Here’s Everything it Announced at GTC 2021. (VentureBeat)
Disney Wants To Create Its Own Metaverse. (VRScout)
Unity Moves Robotics Design and Training to The Metaverse. (VentureBeat)
Mytaverse Launches a Metaverse for Business Travelers. (VentureBeat)
Nike is Building its Metaverse Inside of 'Roblox’. (Engadget)

Hardware

Intel Makes Augmented Reality Production More Accessible with Affordable New RealSense Standalone Depth Camera. (Next Reality)
Ultraleap’s Hand Tracking Platform Gemini Is Now Available For Download. (ARPost)
Taqtile Announces Enhanced Support for Its Manifest AR Work Instruction Platform on Magic Leap and RealWear Devices. (Auganix)
CareAR Announces Launch of CareAR Instruct, Drone Support, and Its Acquisition of CraftAR. (Auganix)
HalfDive VR Headset Takes Design Cues from 'Sword Art Online' NerveGear, Coming to Kickstarter in December. (Road to VR)
Meta Updates on Metaverse Haptic Gloves Plans. (TNW)
Vive Focus 3 is Getting WiFi 6E Support & More Improvements for VR Arcades. (Road to VR)
Snapchat Teaming Up With Sony On New AR Music Lenses. (VRScout)
XYZ Reality Launches 'Atom' AR Headset. (XR Today)

Software

Meet XR Terra, The Company Teaching XR Technology. (ARPost)
Tencent's Metaverse Plans to Follow Chinese Law. (XR Today)
Inworld AI Joins Metaverse Innovation with AI-Driven Virtual Characters. (VentureBeat)
Magic Leap Partners with Geopogo on AR Solution for Architecture and Design. (Auganix)
BMW Uses Nvidia's Omniverse to Build State-Of-The-Art Factories. (VentureBeat)
HoloSuite Gets Depthkit Support for Easier Volumetric Capture by Jose Antunes. (ProVideo Coalition)
Fold Partners with Niantic to Create AR-based Bitcoin Rewards App. (VentureBeat)
DPVR Announces Partnership with XRGlobal to Provide Customized VR Software and Hardware. (Auganix)

Platforms & Tools

Project Cambria 3D Model Formed From Texture Leak. (UploadVR)
Microsoft's Metaverse Ambitions Grow as Teams Platform to Include 3D Avatars & Immersive XR Meetings. (Road to VR)
Amazon Launches Sumerian, Drag-and-Drop Tool for Quickly Creating & Deploying AR/VR Content. (Next Reality)
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform for Creation of Headworn AR Experiences. (Auganix)
'ShapesXR' Is A Rapid Prototyping VR Tool. (VRScout)
Domino Data Lab Launches Fully-Managed MLOps Service with Nvidia. (VentureBeat)
ActiveLook Unveils its ‘NexT’ Technology Platform for Augmented Reality Sports Eyewear. (Auganix)
STYLY Debuts Creative Platform on HTC VIVE Flow. (XR Today)
Assemblr Launches New Web-Based AR Creator. (ARPost)
Arvizio Immerse 3D Review: Intuitive Cross Platform Visualisation Tools. (XR Today)
Meta Unveils XLS-R Speech Processing Tool. (XR Today)
Amazing VR App Turns Any Room Into A Mixed Reality Stargazing Lounge. (VRScout)

Training, Gaming & Entertainment

South Korean Startup Wave Company Announces Electro-Haptic Suit that Combines EMS with VR for Gaming and Exercise. (Auganix)
Leveraging XR-Based Training To Address America’s Employment Crisis. (ARPost)
Harena Data and Phenomena VR Announce Competitive VR eSports Leagues. (Auganix)
Snap Spectacles AR Game Has Players Racing To Collect Bananas. (VRScout)
VRM Switzerland Showcases its Airbus H125 Simulator for Virtual Reality Helicopter Pilot Training. (Auganix)
PIXELYNX Announces Partnership with Niantic to Develop Mobile App Version of its Music Focused Gaming Platform. (Auganix)
YUKI, Kusunda & Olympia Take Home Raindance Immersive Awards. (VRFocus)
Deadmau5 & Richie Hawtin Join Forces To Create Augmented Reality Gaming Platform. (ar.rocks)