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takyon writes:

Exclusive: Apple likely buyer of NextVR, a live event streaming AR/VR company being sold for ~$100M

It's no secret that Apple has ambitious plans for augmented reality and a future AR-focused headset. Apple is practically building the platform for its future headset out in the open with ARKit. What's new is that Apple is believed to be in the process of acquiring a California-based virtual reality company called NextVR, 9to5Mac has learned.

NextVR, which is located in Orange County, California, has a decade of experience marrying virtual reality with sports and entertainment. The company currently provides VR experiences for viewing live events with headsets from PlayStation, Oculus, HTC, Microsoft, Lenovo headsets.

The icing on the cake may not be expertise in virtual reality, however, as NextVR also has holds patented technology that upscales video streams. NextVR uses this technology to support high quality video streams of music and sporting events to VR headsets. NextVR holds over 40 technology patents in total.

Apple is reportedly in the process of snapping up NextVR, its third acquisition in the past week

Apple appears to have embarked on a buying spree over the past week, as startup valuations come down amid the coronavirus pandemic.

[...] Apple frequently buys smaller startups without disclosing the details, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC last May. But an uptick in acquisitions — three in a week — is particularly significant as startups tackle the economic pressures brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, Apple acquired the acclaimed weather app DarkSky, in a move predicted to add to a growing list of services division. DarkSky's founder Adam Grossman announced the news in a blog post, but didn't disclose any of the deal's details.

Then it acquired the Dublin-based AI startup Voysis, whose technology could help bolster Siri's language skills, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The terms of the deal were also left undisclosed.

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