vTime, the company behind the titular social VR app, today announced the studio is making a strategic expansion into North America with the opening of its San Francisco office. Brian Blau, former Research Vice President at Gartner, has been tapped to run vTime’s US office, and joins the executive team to “develop strategic partnerships and further expansion opportunities, as well as manage and build out the US-based team.”
Blau has held several senior positions at companies such as Autodesk, Silicon Graphics, and Double Fusion, and most recently as a Gartner analyst, serving as lead for Apple and other AR and VR technologies.
In a press statement, the company says its US office will be “pivotal in realising the company’s ambitions to be the leading immersive technology engagement platform for consumers and businesses.”
Since its founding in 2013, vTime has operated out of their Liverpool, UK-based studio. In April 2018, the company secured $7.6 million Series A financing to accelerate global growth and product development, and to fuel research and development for the company’s upcoming AR experience, which is slated to release sometime next year.
vTime, the company’s free VR app, is organized similar to many standard social platforms; you to create a profile, chat with friends and family, and even discover new friends by browsing by common interests or languages. vTime however lets you chat in a number of plush environments face-to-face, share both 360 and conventional ‘flat’ images, and even make your own unique look with a pretty robust avatar creator.
At the time of the Series A investment, vTime was lauded for having generated nearly one million downloads since launch in December 2015.
vTime now supports Oculus Rift, Windows VR headsets, Google Daydream, Oculus Go, Gear VR, Google Cardboard, as well as non-VR modes through Android and iOS. See how to download vTime here.
