New Zealand based virtual reality software company
8i Type of business Private Founder(s) Linc Gasking Eugene d'Eon Sebastian Marino Joshua Feast CEO Hayes Mackaman URL Official website Launched 2014 (2014 ) Current status Active
8i is a volumetric video company specializing in the capture, transformation, and streaming of real human holograms , on any device, for the Metaverse .
8i was founded in May 2014[ 1] by Linc Gasking, Eugene d'Eon, Sebastian Marino and Joshua Feast[ 2] to develop software that can capture, analyze, compress, and recreate all the viewpoints required for volumetric capture.[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
In October 2015, 8i raised $13.5 million in Series A funding. Investors included RRE Ventures , Founders Fund Science , Samsung Ventures, and Dolby Family Ventures.[ 7] [ 3] [ 8] [ 9]
In January 2016, 8i premiered #100humans at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival as part of its New Frontier exhibit.[ 10] The program featured four VR projects that placed characters captured using 8i technology in distinct environments ranging from a dystopian wasteland to the Grand Canyon .[ 11] [ 12] [ 2]
In October of 2018, Hayes Mackaman became CEO and relaunched the company in 2019.
^ Devlin, Collette (14 October 2015). "Ashton Kutcher, Samsung among investors in Wellington virtual reality company" . Stuff . Retrieved 2 March 2016 .
^ a b "Kiwi company 8i puts viewer in movie" . Stuff . 4 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-05-30 .
^ a b Takahashi, Dean (4 January 2016). "8i unveils web VR player for its 3D imagery of people" . VentureBeat . Retrieved 7 March 2016 .
^ James, Paul (4 January 2016). "8i Launch 'Volumetric VR' Player for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift at CES" . Road to VR . Retrieved 7 March 2016 .
^ Hodson, Hal. "Virtual reality throws you in at the deep end" . New Scientist . Retrieved 8 March 2016 .
^ Johnson, Eric. " 'Come Invent This New Medium': 8i Wants to Be Vine for Virtual Reality" . re/code . Retrieved 8 March 2016 .
^ Giardina, Carolyn (14 October 2015). "Virtual Reality Startup 8i Raises $13.5M in Series A Funding" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 March 2016 .
^ Roettgers, Janko (14 October 2015). "3D Virtual Reality Startup 8i Raises $13.5 Million Series A" . Variety . Retrieved 2 March 2016 .
^ Olanoff, Drew (14 October 2015). "8i Raises $13.5M To Chase The Human Side Of Virtual Reality" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 2 March 2016 .
^ Brascia, Lorenza; Elam, Stephanie. "How virtual reality could change moviegoing" . CNN . Retrieved 2 March 2016 .
^ Watercutter, Angela. "The VR Company Helping Filmmakers Put You Inside Movies" . Wired . Retrieved 7 March 2016 .
^ Giardina, Carolyn (26 January 2016). "Sundance: Looking for the Tarantino of Virtual Reality" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 March 2016 .