Whirlwind trip to the Bay Area this week -- highlighted by my jaunt down from SF to Silicon Valley a few hours ago to visit VR company Jaunt. I knew I would be impressed, because my friend and visionary Steven Rahman at Samsung told me about this "must see" company. But, "impressed" is not the right word or impact. More like "blown away," as in mind-blowing experience.CEO Jens Christensen immediately sat me down in the Jaunt demo studio (pictured here to the left) -- and I sat through and experienced 4 different demos. First demo -- on the stage at a recent Paul McCartney concert (yes, these will sell big time). Second demo --extreme climbing and parachuting off cliffs in Yosemite and other extreme lands. Third demo -- immersed as a character in a horror movie (complete with a blanket thrown over my head by one of the demons that made my entire body flinch). And, fourth demo -- a CGI EDM-driven segment.
How do I describe the impact?
I smiled throughout -- no, grinned throughout -- no, could barely contain myself.I have been in the media and entertainment world for 25 years and have seen many many things and many many demos. But, today's demo was unlike any other. This certainly is the future of media and entertainment. It ain't no gimmick. And, VR ain't just for gaming anymore. Music, travel, story-telling ... all are open to Jaunt ... and, therefore, to you. The world is now open and fully accessible. That's why blue chip investors have lined up to invest in this company. And, that's why you soon will be investing in Jaunt content.
Here's another mind-blowing thing -- how fast this all happened. Jens told me this:
-- he had previously built and sold several other companies
-- after his last sale, he joined VC firm Redpoint as an EIR (entrepreneur-in-residence)
-- that's where he tried on his first Oculus -- which he actually purchased through Craigslist
-- and that's when he had his epiphany -- whereas Oculus was then game-focused, Jens immediately focused on media and entertainment -- that is the fundamental difference
-- and, within just a few months (since Jens is a technical magician), he and his partner at Redpoint created their first prototype (pictured in the picture above to the right) ... and, now, they are on the second prototype (which is pictured below to the right).
Get this -- this all happened in 2 years!
But, with the inevitable meteoric rise of VR, that "free" won't last long -- and Jaunt's business model is to monetize that content.
I have talked about VR for a long time, and I have written about VR for months. But, experiencing Jaunt today changed everything for me.
VR for media and entertainment is not just the future. It is absolutely here and now ... with compelling, extremely compelling, content produced by Jaunt ....