SEATTLE, Washington and SAN FRANCISCO, California – January 26, 2017 – Rising Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) company Aetho has signed an agreement to license certain related intellectual property (IP) and collaborate on new technology with Xinova, Seattle-based leader in managed innovation.
In 2014, co-founders with a passion for VR dating back to pre-Oculus days introduced Aetho as a state of the art gimbal on a quest to democratize filmmaking. In the two years since, the company has evolved into an AR/VR game-changer with new IP created by Aetho combined with patents licensed from Xinova.
The two companies will collaborate on the creation of new inventions and technologies that support Aetho’s aggressive expansion into the AR and VR fields. This involves a license agreement giving Aetho access to critical technologies in Xinova’s expansive portfolio.
“Behind the scenes, we’ve worked tirelessly to push the limits of visual engagement. We delved into 3D imaging in our infancy knowing full well the proliferation of AR/VR consumption devices would soon catch up,” said Harrison Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Aetho.
This year Aetho will unleash Thrive, a telepresence platform powered by an artificial intelligence engine with big data capabilities and designed for businesses to deliver meaningful mixed reality experiences. As an immersive application, it allows participants to converse naturally, as if in person face-to-face. Thrive enables the flow of information to enhance team collaboration, increase worker productivity, and improve social engagement. Through lifelike interactions, Thrive offers an easy entry point for brands to create a presence in AR/VR that lead to far more compelling consumer experiences.
“We are excited to partner with Aetho to bring them an innovation pipeline of inventions. The AR/VR space is a wide open playing field ripe for mass market adoption, and we believe that Aetho has the power to change the ways that people interact in both business and leisure scenarios through the use of both AR/VR,” said DG Kim, CFO and Head of Investments at Xinova.
Aetho is the latest venture company of Xinova’s successful collaborations. Other venture, start-up, spin-out, and joint-venture companies it works with include Robotic Vision Technologies, Eden Research, Retrace, Coffee Flour, and Collins Woerman.
Through its best-in-class global network of more than 10,000 multidisciplinary experts focused on the creation and deployment of innovation, Xinova operates with a mission and unique methodology geared towards enabling R&D in a climate where long-term innovation has become increasingly difficult. Comprised of scientists, inventors, researchers as well as business development experts, policy makers, investors and marketers, Xinova’s network helps companies to think beyond their organizational confines and solve their biggest challenges.
About Xinova
Xinova partners with customers and inventors to think beyond the confines of their organization and solve big problems. Operating in nine countries worldwide, Xinova is comprised of more than 50 experts, including PhDs, product and commercialization experts, business analysts, and intellectual property experts. At its foundation, Xinova manages its Innovation Network, a community of over 10,000 multidisciplinary experts from more than 30 countries, residing at more than 100 companies, institutions, and universities around the world. With a client base representing global Fortune 500 companies, small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as start-ups, the Xinova portfolio of innovations and incubated spinouts cover a wide range of technology sectors, including food and beverage, science, agriculture, manufacturing, electronics, and biotech.
For more information about Xinova, please see www.Xinova.com.
About Aetho
Rooted in human-centered design, Aetho emerged in 2014 with a consumer-friendly tool to improve video capture. While developing its first commercial product, the company heavily explored the augmented and virtual reality space noticing the paradigm shifting from planar imaging to volumetric display. Today, Aetho redefines human interaction by connecting people and information in immersive environments. As Aetho continued to innovate, it knew adopting mixed reality was the surefire way to scale. Through its telepresence platform Thrive, Aetho is set to do the same for other businesses.
For more information on Aetho’s Thrive, please see http://timewethrive.com/.
Contact:
Mark Klopp
mklopp@xinova.com