Four reasons why you should attend TC Sessions AR/VR 2018

Comment

On October 18 — just one week away — some of the most brilliant and innovative minds in reality creation will gather at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles to attend TC Sessions AR/VR 2018. Whether you’re an early startup founder, an investor, a developer or a student, if you’re focused on AR/VR, you don’t want to miss this day-long intensive event that goes deep into the current and future state of augmented and virtual realities.

Need a bit more convincing? Here are four reasons why you should buy a ticket and attend TC Sessions AR/VR 2018.

1. Deep-dive discussions

We have an outstanding roster of speakers ready to take the stage and go deep on both the opportunities and the challenges facing the AR/VR industry now and in the future. Here are just some of the people and topics we have on tap.

Niko Bonatsos, managing director at General Catalyst, Jacob Mullins, a partner at Shasta Ventures and Catherine Ulrich, managing director at FirstMark Capital will offer a reality check on the state of AR/VR funding — and discuss where the opportunities lie.

Survios co-founders Nathan Burba and James Iliff will talk VR gaming. The big question is whether VR gaming will continue to be a big opportunity and whether the studio can keep the momentum rolling.

2. Presentations: The challenging future of AR/VR

From expensive hardware to breaking out beyond gaming, AR/VR technology faces hurdles to widespread adoption. Heavy-hitters at Oculus, Facebook and Snap (to name a few) weigh in on this important subject. Here’s a taste.

Finding users isn’t the only hurdle when it comes to augmented reality. Creating developer platforms ranks right up there on the AR challenge-o-meter. Eitan Pilipski, a VP at Snap, will talk about leveraging the company’s extensive AR selfie-filter expertise to attract more developers.

Yelena Rachitsky is an executive producer of experiences at Oculus, a company that’s invested hundreds of millions of dollars into VR content. She’ll discuss how the company plans to help Facebook kickstart its VR future. Will Facebook’s customers buy in?

Speaking of Facebook’s future, Ficus Kirkpatrick leads the company’s camera team, and he’ll talk about the company’s entry into AR — by augmenting customers’ smartphone cameras. But where will Facebook’s AR journey lead?

3. Networking

You won’t find a better opportunity to connect with the leaders, innovators, investors and makers within the AR/VR community. Whether you’re looking for collaborators, an investment opportunity, your next job or your next round of funding, you’ll find the people who can make it happen at TC Sessions AR/VR 2018 — all in one day, all in one place.

4. Build community

Community building goes beyond simple networking. It’s like-minded people sharing their ideas, philosophies and dreams. It’s about learning from each other and then returning to the work with renewed inspiration. Come and enrich the community.

TC Sessions AR/VR 2018 takes place on October 18 at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. Tickets cost $149, but you can save 35 percent simply by tweeting your attendance. Go buy a ticket and join your people for one incredible, inspiring day. We can’t wait to see you next week!

 

 

More TechCrunch

China has closed a third state-backed investment fund to bolster its semiconductor industry and reduce reliance on other nations, both for using and for manufacturing wafers — prioritizing what is…

China’s $47B semiconductor fund puts chip sovereignty front and center

Apple’s annual list of what it considers the best and most innovative software available on its platform is turning its attention to the little guy.

Apple’s Design Awards nominees highlight indies and startups, largely ignore AI (except for Arc)

The spyware maker’s founder, Bryan Fleming, said pcTattletale is “out of business and completely done,” following a data breach.

Spyware maker pcTattletale shutters after data breach

AI models are always surprising us, not just in what they can do, but what they can’t, and why. An interesting new behavior is both superficial and revealing about these…

AI models have favorite numbers, because they think they’re people

On Friday, Pal Kovacs was listening to the long-awaited new album from rock and metal giants Bring Me The Horizon when he noticed a strange sound at the end of…

Rock band’s hidden hacking-themed website gets hacked

Jan Leike, a leading AI researcher who earlier this month resigned from OpenAI before publicly criticizing the company’s approach to AI safety, has joined OpenAI rival Anthropic to lead a…

Anthropic hires former OpenAI safety lead to head up new team

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the long-term implications of Synapse’s bankruptcy on the fintech sector, Majority’s impressive ARR milestone, and more!  To get a roundup of…

The demise of BaaS fintech Synapse could derail the funding prospects for other startups in the space

YouTube’s free Playables don’t directly challenge the app store model or break Apple’s rules. However, they do compete with the App Store’s free games.

YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users

Featured Article

A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs

The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized…

7 hours ago
A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs

OpenAI has formed a new committee to oversee “critical” safety and security decisions related to the company’s projects and operations. But, in a move that’s sure to raise the ire…

OpenAI’s new safety committee is made up of all insiders

Time is running out for tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to secure their early-bird tickets for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024! With only four days left until the May 31 deadline, now is…

Early bird gets the savings — 4 days left for Disrupt sale

AI may not be up to the task of replacing Google Search just yet, but it can be useful in more specific contexts — including handling the drudgery that comes…

Skej’s AI meeting scheduling assistant works like adding an EA to your email

Faircado has built a browser extension that suggests pre-owned alternatives for ecommerce listings.

Faircado raises $3M to nudge people to buy pre-owned goods

Tumblr, the blogging site acquired twice, is launching its “Communities” feature in open beta, the Tumblr Labs division has announced. The feature offers a dedicated space for users to connect…

Tumblr launches its semi-private Communities in open beta

Remittances from workers in the U.S. to their families and friends in Latin America amounted to $155 billion in 2023. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers,…

Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp

Google said today it’s adding new AI-powered features such as a writing assistant and a wallpaper creator and providing easy access to Gemini chatbot to its Chromebook Plus line of…

Google adds AI-powered features to Chromebook

The dynamic duo behind the Grammy Award–winning music group the Chainsmokers, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, are set to bring their entrepreneurial expertise to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Known for their…

The Chainsmokers light up Disrupt 2024

The deal will give LumApps a big nest egg to make acquisitions and scale its business.

LumApps, the French ‘intranet super app,’ sells majority stake to Bridgepoint in a $650M deal

Featured Article

More neobanks are becoming mobile networks — and Nubank wants a piece of the action

Nubank is taking its first tentative steps into the mobile network realm, as the NYSE-traded Brazilian neobank rolls out an eSIM (embedded SIM) service for travelers. The service will give customers access to 10GB of free roaming internet in more than 40 countries without having to switch out their own existing physical SIM card or…

15 hours ago
More neobanks are becoming mobile networks — and Nubank wants a piece of the action

Infra.Market, an Indian startup that helps construction and real estate firms procure materials, has raised $50M from MARS Unicorn Fund.

MARS doubles down on India’s Infra.Market with new $50M investment

Small operations can lose customers by not offering financing, something the Berlin-based startup wants to change.

Cloover wants to speed solar adoption by helping installers finance new sales

India’s Adani Group is in discussions to venture into digital payments and e-commerce, according to a report.

Adani looks to battle Reliance, Walmart in India’s e-commerce, payments race, report says

Ledger, a French startup mostly known for its secure crypto hardware wallets, has started shipping new wallets nearly 18 months after announcing the latest Ledger Stax devices. The updated wallet…

Ledger starts shipping its high-end hardware crypto wallet

A data protection taskforce that’s spent over a year considering how the European Union’s data protection rulebook applies to OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, reported preliminary conclusions Friday. The top-line takeaway…

EU’s ChatGPT taskforce offers first look at detangling the AI chatbot’s privacy compliance

Here’s a shoutout to LatAm early-stage startup founders! We want YOU to apply for the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. But you’d better hurry — time is running…

LatAm startups: Apply to Startup Battlefield 200

The countdown to early-bird savings for TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 28–30 in San Francisco, continues. You have just five days left to save up to $800 on the price…

5 days left to get your early-bird Disrupt passes

Venture investment into Spanish startups also held up quite well, with €2.2 billion raised across some 850 funding rounds.

Spanish startups reached €100 billion in aggregate value last year

Featured Article

Onyx Motorbikes was in trouble — and then its 37-year-old owner died

James Khatiblou, the owner and CEO of Onyx Motorbikes, was watching his e-bike startup fall apart.  Onyx was being evicted from its warehouse in El Segundo, near Los Angeles. The company’s unpaid bills were stacking up. Its chief operating officer had abruptly resigned. A shipment of around 100 CTY2 dirt bikes from Chinese supplier Suzhou…

1 day ago
Onyx Motorbikes was in trouble — and then its 37-year-old owner died

Featured Article

Iyo thinks its GenAI earbuds can succeed where Humane and Rabbit stumbled

Iyo represents a third form factor in the push to deliver standalone generative AI devices: Bluetooth earbuds.

1 day ago
Iyo thinks its GenAI earbuds can succeed where Humane and Rabbit stumbled

Arati Prabhakar, profiled as part of TechCrunch’s Women in AI series, is director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Women in AI: Arati Prabhakar thinks it’s crucial to get AI ‘right’