Austin, Texas based virtual reality music platform TheWaveVR has closed a $2.5 million seed funding round to build a social VR music platform that will launch later this year.
Participating in the round are leading venture capital firms including KPCB Edge, Presence Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, RRE Ventures, The VR Fund, Seedcamp and angels including Mike Fischer (ex-CEO Square Enix North America) and Joe Kraus (of GV, formerly Google Ventures).
TheWaveVR is a VR platform lets fas view, host and socialize in live and recorded shows. By democratizing the concert experience. TheWave creates a VR venue where artists can perform live music by simply importing their tracks, customizing the visuals of the venue, and sharing virtual shows. Fans can attend via most major VR head mounted displays, interact with performers, socialize with friends, dance, paint and more.
“We’re working toward empowering artists and music lovers alike and transforming the way people connect through music by building the world’s first musical metaverse in VR,” said Adam Arrigo, CEO of TheWaveVR. “Music creators will be able to fully customize how their audience experiences the music – whether that’s by transforming the venue from a realistic nightclub to outer space or putting on the most unimaginable light show ever. Fans won’t have to travel the globe or miss out on their favorite DJs, musicians or festivals and can experience the music like never before, while socializing in totally new ways alongside their friends.”
New Advisors
The company also announced that it has added David Wexler (aka Strangeloop) and Dave Haynes as advisors. Wexler is an audio-visual artist and founder of Strangeloop Studios in Los Angeles, CA. He is one of the most recognized live visual artists in the world, having worked with Flying Lotus, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones and more. Haynes is a longtime entrepreneur and currently on the investment team at Seedcamp. He was formerly a VP and part of the early team at SoundCloud, helping the company grow from launch to the world’s leading online audio platform.
World’s First VR Rave at VRLA August 5 – 6
TheWaveVR will hold a VR Rave at VRLA on August 5-6 in partnership with SubPac, Skullcandy, PhaseSpace and 3DLive. A curated list of DJs will be performing in the HTC Vive, while multiple attendees will wear positionally tracked Gear VR’s and SubPacs (subwoofer vests). The DJs will be performing in front of a giant 3D screen, so music lovers can also experience eye-popping visuals from the metaverse on 3D glasses. For more information on the event and how to participate, go to https://www.facebook.com/virtualrealityla/.