• Latest
  • All
  • How To
Facebook’s Virtual Insanity, Taking Virtual Reality Beyond Gaming through $2 Billion Investment in Oculus VR

Facebook’s Virtual Insanity, Taking Virtual Reality Beyond Gaming through $2 Billion Investment in Oculus VR

March 26, 2014
gmail ai

Gmail Rolls Out New Feature That Lets Users Easily Manage Subscriptions

July 9, 2025
Samsung

This Samsung Security Update Could Change How You Use Your Phone

July 9, 2025
tecno ultimate g fold concept

TECNO Enters Tri-fold Race with New Ultimate G Fold Concept Phone

July 9, 2025
Microsoft Edge browser

Microsoft Makes Edge 40% Faster in a Bid to Lure Chrome Users

July 8, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

July 8, 2025
Open TV

Open TV Brings Fast and Ad-Free IPTV to Android

July 7, 2025
Microsoft

Laid-Off Microsoft Workers Told to Ask ChatGPT for Career Support

July 7, 2025
nairobi barricades

Live Barricades App Offers Relief to Stranded Nairobi Commuters on Saba Saba

July 7, 2025
Voter Verification Portal Offline Indefinitely for System Maintenance

IEBC Portal Shutdown for Undisclosed Maintenance Period

July 7, 2025
Infinix Note 50 Pro x Java House Collab

Infinix Teams Up with Java House to Launch Note 50 Pro Series

July 4, 2025
Instagram threads

Meta Adds Direct Messages to Instagram Threads

July 7, 2025
Infinix Hot 60i Pre-order

Infinix Hot 60i Now Available for Pre-Order in Kenya

July 4, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

Facebook’s Virtual Insanity, Taking Virtual Reality Beyond Gaming through $2 Billion Investment in Oculus VR

Carlos Ageng'o by Carlos Ageng'o
March 26, 2014
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
248
0
Palmer Luckey - Oculus VR Co-founder

Palmer Luckey - Oculus VR Co-founder

Facebook’s investment into Instagram and WhatsApp was in an area where the company already has experience, messaging. Much as the company’s interest in Oculus is may seem alien to its business and can be compared to Google’s acquisition of Android in 2005. Both form investments into future platforms – Android represents mobile platform and Oculus, the virtual reality platform.

Palmer Luckey - Oculus VR Co-founder
Palmer Luckey – Oculus VR Co-founder

Discussions between the 2 companies began several months ago with Facebook valuing Oculus VR at $1.5 billion three months ago. Oculus CEO demoed the Rift to Mark Zuckerberg back in February. “The initial expectation wasn’t that he was coming down to acquire us. He just wanted to see what we were up to.” – Brendan Iribe, Oculus VR CEO.

Oculus VR was founded by Palmer Luckey, getting its initial funding from supporters on Kickstarter at $2.5 million. The company later got funded by VC’s in a campaign led by Andreesen Horowitz raising $75 million. The Oculus Rift prototype sold at $300 with developers ordering 75,000 units, the last developer version of the headset was released at the GDC 2014 for pre-order with a $350 price tag. A consumer version of the VR headset is next in the production roadmap and the newly found commitment from Facebook promises the mass production of an affordable VR headset. Facebook values Oculus at $2 billion, of this $400 million will be in cash. The rest of that money broken down: 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock, $300 million earn-out in cash and stock based on future performance
RIFT
The deal had initially been resisted by Oculus VR investors upon fears that the compnay would lose its independence under the social media giant. The buy-out however provides Oculus with enough resources to achieve its target of bringing VR to the consumer market. Its long term goal is to create an affordable VR experience and make this available in a small form factor.

“A decade or two from now, it will be nothing but sunglasses. You’d put them on and have this new virtual world.” Iribe said while speaking to Re/Code’s Eric Johnson.
comics-oculus-rift-virtual-reality-nerfnow-664672
Development for the VR headset is now set to go beyond gaming platforms now that Oculus has won confidence as a technology built for the future. “While the applications for virtual reality technology beyond gaming are in their nascent stages, several industries are already experimenting with the technology, and Facebook plans to extend Oculus’ existing advantage in gaming to new verticals, including communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas,” says Facebook in a press statement.

So far development of the VR headset has been driven by the mobile market. Components used to create the Rift are not particularly optimized for the headset but for the smartphones. Through Facebook’s support, Oculus can now scale up production and acquire hardware built specifically for VR therefore creating the product in greater volumes. The risk of investing in VR has now also been greatly reduced – this had been part of the reception given to Project Morpheus (“[…] with Sony getting in the mix, it really does mean there’s going to be a bigger audience, there’s going to be more people that can buy games,” Oculus VR co-founder, Nate Mitchell while speaking at Develop).
order
“We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world. We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it’s only just the beginning.” – Brendan Iribe.

Oculus headquarters remain in Irvine, CA with the transaction expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

Tags: FacebookVirtual Reality
SendShare146Tweet92
Carlos Ageng'o

Carlos Ageng'o

Bringing you news on information systems, business intelligence and IT innovations. Contact me on @aKhadiemik and c [dot] agengo [at] techweez [dot] com

Related Posts

Facebook

New Facebook AI Tool Can Access Private Images on Your Phone

June 30, 2025
Counterfeit Products Infiltrate Kenya's Online Market

Counterfeit Goods Flood Kenyan Online Shops Like Jumia and Facebook

June 29, 2025
Togo Cracks Down on Social Media as Protests Demand Leader's Resignation

Togo Shuts Down Social Media Access

June 29, 2025
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 25, 2025
University student fined for defamatory Facebook posts

University Student Fined KES 7.5 Million for Defamatory Facebook Posts

May 29, 2025
ID Checks May Soon Be Required for Social Media in Kenya

ID Checks May Soon Be Required for Social Media in Kenya

May 21, 2025

Latest

gmail ai

Gmail Rolls Out New Feature That Lets Users Easily Manage Subscriptions

July 9, 2025
Samsung

This Samsung Security Update Could Change How You Use Your Phone

July 9, 2025
tecno ultimate g fold concept

TECNO Enters Tri-fold Race with New Ultimate G Fold Concept Phone

July 9, 2025
Microsoft Edge browser

Microsoft Makes Edge 40% Faster in a Bid to Lure Chrome Users

July 8, 2025
Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

July 8, 2025
Open TV

Open TV Brings Fast and Ad-Free IPTV to Android

July 7, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Gmail Rolls Out New Feature That Lets Users Easily Manage Subscriptions

July 9, 2025

This Samsung Security Update Could Change How You Use Your Phone

July 9, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

Laid-Off Microsoft Workers Told to Ask ChatGPT for Career Support

Live Barricades App Offers Relief to Stranded Nairobi Commuters on Saba Saba

IEBC Portal Shutdown for Undisclosed Maintenance Period

Infinix Teams Up with Java House to Launch Note 50 Pro Series

Meta Adds Direct Messages to Instagram Threads

Infinix Hot 60i Now Available for Pre-Order in Kenya

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.