Virtual Reality (VR) is a fast growing segment of the consumer electronics market. Experiencing an unprecedented level of phenomenal growth, VR is aided by respective industry giants pouring in huge amounts of money to push VR forward across a myriad of platforms. Analytics firm Quid reported that names such as Intel, Facebook, and HTC are some of the biggest investors where VR is concerned. In fact, expectations are there for VR and augmented reality (AR) to hit revenue of $24 billion before the year is over. Hence, it is not strange at all to see these multi-billion dollar corporations jumping aboard the VR bandwagon as there is more money to be made in return over the course of the future.
Another good indicator that a particular industry is growing would be to check out the number of available jobs. LinkedIn has actually seen a 300 percent increase in the number of VR-related jobs posted in the last one year, which is a figure not to be taken lightly. Out of the total number of VR-related jobs posted, Facebook was ahead of the pack with 86 vacancies. The majority of these vacancies were positioned under the Oculus brand. Companies such as Intel, Nokia, and Cybercoders comprised of the remaining minority, coming in at 20, 20, and 24 vacancies, respectively. Most of these positions would be U.S.-based, while just a handful are spread out worldwide in the UK and Germany, with one Asian country, India, spearheading the VR effort.
It is not surprising to see Facebook at the forefront of VR, since the social networking giant has dropped many hints concerning their involvement with VR and AR technologies in order to ensure a brighter future. With Oculus safely tucked underneath Facebook’s growing list of acquisitions, they are on a continuous lookout for additional companies that will help Facebook remain at the forefront of the VR and AR industries. In fact, Facebook users would be able to benefit from AR in due time in the form of the upcoming Facebook Spaces social VR app. It would be interesting to see where would Intel and HTC like to move forward with VR and AR technologies.