Facebook has acquired virtual reality gaming company Oculus for $2 billion, making it the social media giant’s first hardware deal. Facebook will pay $400 million in cash, with 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock valued at $1.6 billion. In addition, the deal includes a $300 million earn-out in cash and stock. A two-year-old firm, Oculus VR Inc is a maker of virtual-reality glasses for gaming and the deal marks Facebook’s foray into the fast-growing wearable devices arena. Reports suggest that the move comes as a shift in an evolving technology industry, at a time when consumers are increasingly abandoning their PCs for smartphones. In a blog post, Oculus mentioned, “At first glance, it might not seem obvious why Oculus is partnering with Facebook, a company focused on connecting people, investing in internet access for the world and pushing an open computing platform. But when you consider it more carefully, we’re culturally aligned with a focus on innovating and hiring the best and brightest; we believe communication drives new platforms; we want to contribute to a more open, connected world; and we both see virtual reality as the next step.” Oculus is a California based company founded by Palmer Luckey. The firm raised $2.4 million in a Kickstarter campaign before tapping venture capital. Once it turned to professional investors, Oculus quickly attracted major attention. Six months after the June 2013 Series A, which also included Founders Fund and Formation 8, Oculus landed $75 million in financing led by Andreessen Horowitz. Oculus now has over 100 employees and has distributed around 75,000 software development kits for Oculus Rift to game developers and others. The company and its employees will operate independently from Facebook and continue its path of developing a platform for virtual reality games. However, Facebook’s vision for Oculus is much bigger than games. In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face, just by putting on goggles in your home.” With a large shift to mobile devices, wearable devices could represent the next big platform shift. In fact, Google too has been reportedly testing Google Glass, a stamp-sized electronic screen mounted to a pair of eyeglasses for several years. Last week, it introduced an effort to develop computerised wristwatches. Facebook’s deal is expected to close in the second quarter, and marks the company’s second multi-billion dollar acquisition since mid-February. Facebook had recently hit the headlines for its $19 billion acquisition for messaging service WhatsApp.
Read more at: Facebook acquires virtual reality gaming firm Oculus for bn | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com
Read more at: Facebook acquires virtual reality gaming firm Oculus for bn | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com
