Viorama, a Berlin-based VR startup, today announced the closed beta launch of Splash, a VR video sharing platform that aims to make capturing and publishing 360 videos easy.
Presented today during VR Launchpad, a virtual reality-focused startup showcase sponsored by SVVR and Road to VR in Mountain View CA, co-founder Michael Ronen pitched Splash to a crowd of investors and fellow startup companies looking for funds.
The new application is said to allow users to “share [360 video] with your friends with or without VR goggles,” with footage taken directly from your smartphone without the aid of external hardware.
Ronen, an Israeli Entrepreneur based in Berlin, has been involved in theater and film directing for the past 10 years and is now making the transition to the online media industry.
“…this is really amazing because you can do it immediately and share it to YouTube or Facebook in seconds,” said Ronen at today’s VR Launchpad presentation.
Viorama has already received €175,000 to develop the app from EuropeanPioneers, a program funded by the European Union that includes an 8-month business accelerator. Viorama was one of 13 startups to go to the second round of the program, having competed against over 660 applicants from around the EU.
With social networks like Facebook’s recently supporting 360 video posted directly to your timeline, Splash is looking to bridge the gap between prospective content creators and their targeted publishing platforms.
The application is currently in beta, and if you want to try out with new service, you can sign up here. We’ll be following Splash to see just how they plan on capturing 360 video with the humble smartphone lens, which had been touted to not require any additional hardware for 360 video capture.