Thanks to the recent, headline-capturing releases of both the Vive and the Rift, investment money is continuing to pour into VR-based initiatives and complimentary hardware. An additional $40 million in Series C funding has gone into the coffers of 360fly, a company that makes a single-lens camera that captures stichless 360 video. Hydra Ventures, an investment arm of Adidas, joins the Series.
Lacking 3D, virtual reality isn’t necessarily the top priority for 360fly’s current crop of consumer-priced 360 degree cameras, but it’s certainly becoming a significant force behind the company’s forward-looking strategy.
“Our investment partners recognize the tremendous opportunity within the VR space as we drive further toward a level of widespread consumer adoption,” said Peter Adderton, 360fly CEO. “We have no intention of slowing down or resting on our laurels, and closing this latest round of funding is critical to not only maintaining, but increasing the momentum we’ve established.”
The newly announced $40 million Series C investment brings on Hydra Ventures, an investment arm of Adidas, who joins lead investor L Catterton as well as Qualcomm Ventures which participated in the company’s Series B back in 2014.
Capturing the excitement of sports and sporting events appears to be a very solid fit for VR, and Adidas may be attempting to find their own niche in the quickly filling marketplace. International football competitions, for instance, may choose to incorporate the technology Adidas is now putting money towards, and in the future, 360fly could be a reasonably good fit for that venture. It should be fully expected that more sport-affiliated companies will push money into the VR space through the next year, whether it be through investments or focus on VR content production to immersively connect with fans.
360fly is competing in an increasingly crowded space as a number of companies vie to create the ‘GoPro of VR’ (including GoPro itself!). So far the company has succeeded in getting their first camera into Best Buy with their 4k model already taking pre-orders through the same.
