Founded in Hong Kong in 2016, Sandbox VR has developed into one of the world’s leading virtual reality (VR) game companies.
Steve Zhao started the company from scratch – building a team of seven people and an initial investment of less than US$1 million.
Since then, the company has raised US$68 million from the likes of Alibaba – which owns the SCMP – and American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and competes with producers such as The Void, which partnered with Disney to launch a Star Wars VR attraction.
Industry analysts say the industry has a dazzling future. Worldwide spending on augmented and virtual reality expected to surpass US$20 billion by 2019, according to technology research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
SCMP reporter Zen Soo recently had a chance to experience Sandbox VR’s latest technology. He joined founder Zhao at the company’s store in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district to try a full-body, free-roaming VR experience.
