TORONTO – While the virtual reality sector is still in the early stages of its development, there has been a 22% increase in the number of Canadian companies working in the VR landscape since 2014, says the initial findings of a report surveying the Canadian VR ecosystem.
Pulse on VR: A Living Ecosystem launched in June 2016 and remains ongoing, capturing the workflows, tools, challenges and opportunities that VR creators and technologists face in this evolving landscape. The next round of data will be shared in Fall 2017.
Co-authored by CFC Media Lab and OMERS Ventures, in collaboration with Nordicity, Pulse on VR is informed by analysis of VR companies by means of a survey, desk research and case study interviews that are designed to understand how VR experiences are being created and distributed (the workflow); track which technologies are most prevalent among companies; and shed light on VR's market potential.
"Pulse on VR reached more than 200 companies across Canada employing almost 1400 people working on VR projects," said CFC CDO Ana Serrano, in the news release. "Of these 1400 employees, more than four in 10 are working for companies focused solely on VR products. We know there is a growing industry here and this is just the start. Pulse on VR will help us track the evolution of this industry. It will provide us with the insights to see how the public and private sectors can work together to ensure Canada creates and retains its competitive advantages in this immersive media sector."
The ongoing, ‘living’ study is calling for both new and return participants to join and update their data, thereby contributing to an accurate, comprehensive snapshot of the field. An accessible survey and data with case studies will be available on the website.
