While most thought leaders in the world of tech are likely to nod knowledgably when asked if immersive technologies are the future of tech, investment in this space has always been rather unpredictable but a recent survey says the trend is changing.
The survey conducted by Global law firm Perkins Coie LLP and XR Association on immersive technology, namely, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) concluded that nine out of ten respondents believe that immersive technology will be THE transformational technology by 2025.
The survey consisted of 200 respondents, including executives from established tech businesses (67%), founders or executives of XR (extended reality) technology firms (18%), and advisors, outside consultants, investors, and policymakers (15%).
Investment in XR surged in 2108, according to PitchBook, the fourth quarter in 2018 saw a venture capital deal of USD 1.7 billion in AR and VR, which is about three times the deal value during same quarter in 2017. The investment in this sphere has increased year-over-year from USD 2.5 billion in 2017 to USD 3.8 billion in 2018.
Based on the geographical regions, North America has got biggest chunk of investment and the region is expected to witness fastest growth in the next five years (57%). Immersive technology found another promising market in the Asia-Pacific region as 18% of respondents said that the region will witness fastest growth in the industry over the next five years.
Immersive technology still faces loads of challenges from different sectors looking to adopt the technology. Uncertainty regarding the viability of software is concern for 39% of respondents, privacy and security concerns for 36%, platform requiring exclusivity for 35% and product liability risk for 30%.
While XR technologies still need to weed out a host of concerns regarding adoption, legality, and risk, it is safe to say that it seems to have captured the attention of investors.
