Ex-ARM, Guerrilla Cambridge devs form VR firm Virtual Arts
New studio will create virtual reality development platform, as well as games, animations and interactive experiences for mobile
A new VR studio has emerged from stealth today, founded by staff from some of the most notable games and tech firms in Cambridge.
Virtual Arts was founded in December 2016 by Nizar Romdan and Doug Day, veterans of the semiconductor specialist ARM, who will be CEO and CTO respectively. When Sony closed its Guerrilla Cambridge a month later, the duo took the opportunity to hire some of the employees that had been made redundant.
The Virtual Arts team has now revealed itself, and is working on "a unique technology platform that will meet the requirements and challenges of VR/AR/MR development and enable stunning content for entry-level devices", according to a statement. This platform can then be sold or licensed to other VR developers, in part to fund Virtual Arts' own releases.
The company plans to build "unique content IP" in the form of games, animations and interactive experiences, drawing on its founders' knowledge and expertise with the mobile market.
"There will soon be a world where virtual reality headsets are as readily available and as easily disposable as coffee cup holders," said Romdan. "The devices of today with their current performance capabilities will be the dominant devices. The content being delivered to these devices will come from Virtual Arts and the companies using Virtual Arts' unique technology platform to create content."
Romdan and Day have already successfully completed a round of seed investment and are currently raising the next round of Series A funding.
Any developers or investors in Brighton this week for the 2017 Develop Conference will find Virtual Arts on the ground floor of the British Airways i360 Experience opposite the Hilton Metropole Hotel.