Co-founder of the venture capital group FreeS Fund Li Feng shared his vision on the future of virtual reality (VR) on Tuesday at the NetEase Future Tech Conference in Beijing.
“The application of VR in different scenarios is not easy at present,” said Li. He pointed out that since VR is still a fairly immature technology, user experience is not yet good enough to satisfy some consumers.
According to Li, the FreeS Fund has invested in several Chinese VR startups who offer solutions to problems yet to be solved in the field of VR, including motion capture and data computing. For example, they have invested in a company that uses algorithms to transfer plane waves to spherical waves, thus improving VR sound experience.
Li also said that compared to the US, it is easier for VR startups to develop in China. He said that in the US, internet giants such as Microsoft and Facebook have been investing heavily into the VR industry over the past two year, and that the resources these companies have accumulated – including technologies and talent – make it hard for local startups to find a place.
“Maybe not this year, but I believe that in two to three years, the VR user experience will be greatly improved, and consumers are therefore expected to spend more time on it, making VR the next big thing,” said Li.
There are some competitive players in the Chinese market right now, like Baofeng Mojing, launched by China’s video streaming platform Baofeng.com, the Shanghai-based Deepoon, and Shenzhen-based 3Glasses.
According to Bloomberg, the value of the VR market in China is expected to reach USD 8.5 billion in four years.