3. People lack a digital, natural platform to be social.
“Virtual reality is the only [social] medium where you can look someone in
the eye.”
- AltspaceVR, 2014
5. Persona (2014)
● John Daniel
● 30 Years Old
● Enough free time / social drive to
look for events
● Innovator / early adopter of VR
6. AltspaceVR’s Freemium Model
● People can be social on the platform for free
● Companies can pay to use the platform for events
7. History of AltspaceVR
2013 AltspaceVR Founded
Sept 2014 Received 5.2M in funding
May 2015 Product Launched
July 2015 Received 10.3M in funding
July 2017 AltspaceVR announces it’s shutting down, begins layoffs
9. Shutdown of AltspaceVR
“We had a supportive group of investors that last gave us money in 2015. It
looked like we had a deal for our next round of funding, and it fell through.
Some combination of this deal falling through and the general slowness of
VR market growth made most of our investors reluctant to fund us further.”
- AltspaceVR, announcing their shutdown in 2017
10. Acquisition of AltspaceVR
July 2017 Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey speaks out about “saving”
AltSpaceVR
July 2017 CEO tweets “… I’m thinking we keep the lights on a little longer.
Just in case…”
October 2017 Microsoft acquires AltspaceVR
11. AltspaceVR Leadership
Eric Romo - Founder / CEO
2013 - 2017
Now in a leadership role at Facebook
Katie Kelly - Product Owner
2017 - Present
Senior PM before acquisition
12. Social VR Competition
Engage AltspaceVR Facebook Spaces
Business model Very limited freemium Freemium? Free
Maximum capacity 50-person crowds 70-person crowds 4 people
Privacy Paid only Free Free
For Companies For People
13. Secret Sauce
● Balance between casual and professional spaces
● Deep roots in community of innovators
● Microsoft name for pitching to companies
14. The Future of AltspaceVR?
Depending on what Microsoft wants:
● Delayed success
● Prototype for future products
