8i (virtual reality)

New Zealand based virtual reality software company

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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.

## History

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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.

## References

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1. ^ Devlin, Collette (14 October 2015). "Ashton Kutcher, Samsung among investors in Wellington virtual reality company". Stuff. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
2. ^ a b "Kiwi company 8i puts viewer in movie". Stuff. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
3. ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (4 January 2016). "8i unveils web VR player for its 3D imagery of people". VentureBeat. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ Hodson, Hal. "Virtual reality throws you in at the deep end". New Scientist. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
6. ^ Johnson, Eric. "'Come Invent This New Medium': 8i Wants to Be Vine for Virtual Reality". re/code. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
7. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (14 October 2015). "Virtual Reality Startup 8i Raises $13.5M in Series A Funding". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
8. ^ Roettgers, Janko (14 October 2015). "3D Virtual Reality Startup 8i Raises $13.5 Million Series A". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
9. ^ Olanoff, Drew (14 October 2015). "8i Raises $13.5M To Chase The Human Side Of Virtual Reality". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
10. ^ Brascia, Lorenza; Elam, Stephanie. "How virtual reality could change moviegoing". CNN. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
11. ^ Watercutter, Angela. "The VR Company Helping Filmmakers Put You Inside Movies". Wired. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
12. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (26 January 2016). "Sundance: Looking for the Tarantino of Virtual Reality". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

## External links

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* Official website