HTC Launches $100m VR Accelerator

HTC Vive (1)HTC has launched Vive X, a $100m million accelerator program for VR startups.

The program, called Vive X, will run in Beijing, San Francisco and Taipei starting this May, with a view to rolling out across other global hubs in the near future.

HTC says it is looking for companies from any industry that are creating content, tools, applications and accessories that enrich the VR ecosystem and end-user experience.

In exchange for a small amount of equity, The Verge reports that startups will receive $50,000-$200,000. As well as the funding, companies will be given office space, training from HTCs development and engineering team, and access to investor demo days.

Aside from its stake in the companies, the benefit for HTC is the potential to find a killer app that might attract more users to VR.

“Virtual reality is changing the world, yet to do that effectively it needs a healthy ecosystem to expand into the mass market,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC.

The initiative was announced at an HTC event in Beijing, where the program will run its first pilot next month.