On March 25, 2014 the world discovered Mark Zuckerberg bought Oculus VR for over $2 billion.
Youngsters who weren’t born when he made that call can now put on, with parental controls, a $500 wi-fi all-in-one headset with markerless inside-out monitoring, exact 6DoF controllers, hand monitoring, and blended actuality.
Rather a lot has occurred within the decade to get us right here.
From Oculus founder Palmer Luckey hand-delivering a Rift in Alaska in 2016 to his unceremonious dismissal a yr later, Oculus inside Fb confronted a collection of management modifications (Hugo Barra), technique shifts (Fb accounts required), and accelerated hiring sprees. Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe, for instance, tried and did not ship higher PC VR headsets than the Rift as standalone VR turned Zuckerberg’s centered technique.
As Oculus disappeared, finally taking the title Actuality Labs, the hassle to construct VR and AR merchandise grew into a complete division inside Fb as Quests began transport within the tens of millions. Finally, Mark Zuckerberg began giving a variety of interviews the place he made certain to repeat the phrase “metaverse” forward of his large rebrand to Meta.
Fb had round 10,000 workers when it acquired Oculus in 2014. By the point Zuckerberg modified the title to Meta in 2021, headcount was rocketing towards 80,000, solely to be adopted instantly by large layoffs and extra reorganization.
Earlier than all that occurred within the wake of the acquisition, on March 27, 2014 as a know-how reporter for the Orange County Register, I put the next questions on the entrance web page of the native newspaper the place Oculus was headquartered:
There was sufficient info on the time to attempt to reply the primary two or three questions. Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe bought wealthy and, sure, Oculus alienated a number of supporters with its sale, however the transfer additionally sparked a wave of funding in VR the likes of which had by no means been seen earlier than. Zuckerberg’s WhatsApp and Instagram acquisitions made a case for genius, however his awkward public picture made a case for loony after Jessie Eisenberg’s depiction of him in 2010’s The Social Community.
Within the years since, Meta has undercut competitors on pricing at each flip, aggressively swiped up artistic growth studios, and offered tens of tens of millions of VR headsets. That is loads so as to add to the empire-building genius column of proof, however there’s additionally that 2019 article about Twitter’s CEO interacting with Zuckerberg which included an anecdote concerning the billionaire gorgeous his goats.
On the query of medical care by way of VR, Osso is one in every of VR’s greatest startups pursuing medical care in reference to VR headsets. And when you go to the attention physician to check your eyes, there’s an opportunity they might put you in a VR headset in the course of the examination.
In order that reply is an enormous sure.
Is VR Science Fiction Or The Subsequent iPhone?
VR is actually not science fiction, however whether or not it’s the subsequent iPhone continues to be in energetic rivalry a decade after Mark Zuckerberg’s buy of Oculus. I’ll supply my very own anecdote to this reply, nevertheless, after 10 years of reporting on this know-how full-time.
I used to be on my method house from work driving alongside the 91 freeway in California on March 25, 2014, one of many worst commutes on the planet, when my editor referred to as me to inform me that Zuckerberg’s acquisition had simply crossed the wires.
“Now lots of people have concepts on how one can make transportation higher,” Zuckerberg instructed VR builders just a few years later. “Self-driving automobiles, hyperloops, and don’t get me fallacious I like all of that stuff, but it surely’s 2017 and the most important development in transportation is that its loads simpler to maneuver bits round than atoms.”
Zuckerberg made his Oculus buy in 2014 and that remark about transportation in 2017. It’s 2024 now, and Apple simply did two issues to make Zuckerberg’s case for empire-building genius a lot stronger.
Apple constructed a just about limitless money hoard drawn from the sale of iPhones. It has sufficient cash to place hundreds of individuals on any venture for a decade or extra as they work out each facet of its know-how growth. Regardless of these sources, Apple cancelled its automotive venture.
And, nearly in parallel, Tim Prepare dinner shipped the VR headset.
I parted with my very own automotive too this yr to assist fund the acquisition of a VR headset that is costlier than any private laptop I’ve ever owned. And whereas it’s Apple’s headset that prices that a lot and drove me to maneuver on from automotive tradition, it’s Zuckerberg’s commentary that describes why I did it.
Sure, it’s simpler to maneuver round bits than atoms, and VR means you by no means have to take a seat in visitors once more.
