Although the "true return" was almost successful, Luo Yonghao was still unwilling. This time, Luo Yonghao clearly indicated the future entrepreneurial direction: VR, AR, MR and other fields.
This trajectory is surprising: as early as the hammer period seven years ago, he repeatedly expressed his optimism about VR, and even making a mobile phone was just waiting for the arrival of the VR era.
It is reported that in 20 14, Luo Yonghao began to set up a VR project team, with Luo Zixiong as the design director. However, due to the industry and the hammer company itself, he had to run aground on the VR project.
In the past few years, the entrepreneurial environment of VR is not what it used to be-this VR craze was almost completely detonated by the concept of meta-universe.
An entrepreneur who was preparing for the VR company on 20 15 told Pencil that the popularity of the Hyperuniverse was exactly the same as that of VR in that year. 20 16 is called the first year of VR. At that time, the market voice said that VR was a subversive innovation, and VR was the "next screen", which would replace mobile phones and PCs.
However, the vent of VR did not arrive as scheduled. "At the end of 20 16, it was said that 20 17 would come, and later it was changed to 20 18 and 20 19, but the VR slogan didn't really come until the concept of metauniverse was heated up."
The popularity of the concept of metauniverse has brought the VR/AR/MR industry back to life. At present, it is still in the initial stage of concept hype, but games and VR have become the entry point for many listed companies and startups to connect with the meta-universe, much like when VR was sought after.
Luo Canyong, whose initial heart has not changed, shines in the new entrepreneurial environment?
After True Story, Luo Yonghao returned to the science and technology circle.
"Come on, Ronaldinho, you can still be a cow for eleven years." Encouraged, Luo Yonghao announced his return to the science and technology circle.
65438+February 16 at 0: 2 1, Luo Yonghao, still certified as "CEO of Hammer Technology", released the Weibo again, saying that he would return to high-tech entrepreneurship, and when answering questions from netizens in the comment area, he indicated that the entrepreneurial direction was AR, VR and Mr.
Although Luo Yonghao has made great achievements in the field of live broadcast, it has also staged a "true story": some media reported that the 600 million debt owed by Hammer Technology has been paid off by 500 million, and the remaining 1 billion will be paid off within one year. But his ambition is obviously not here. Prior to this, he announced that Weibo would return to the technology industry next spring. This year,165438+1October 5 also clearly stated that "the next entrepreneurial project is a so-called' meta-universe company'."
Choosing VR and other directions to start a business is not a whim of Luo Yonghao.
According to reports, Hammer Technology began to set up a VR project team as early as the end of 20 14, headed by design director Luo Zixiong, with about 30-50 people, and developed VR hardware headphones, PCVRLauncher and some VR applications that realized basic functions.
In the following year, Hammer Technology continued to increase its investment in the VR field. According to media reports, Hammer Technology first cooperated with Nuoyiteng to establish a VR interactive laboratory, with the former providing funds and the latter providing technology, and then posted a recruitment notice on Weibo, clearly indicating that the VR team was recruiting talents. Finally, Luo Yonghao himself directly indicated on the Weibo that Hammer mobile phone is about to enter the VR field.
However, in 20 16, the VR department was separated from Hammer Technology and became a subsidiary of Sisi Technology, with Luo Yonghao as the director. Luo Zixiong later explained the reasons for independence in an interview with the media. "There should be no plan to do VR inside the hammer in the short term. Hammer can wait for the industry to mature and make money before doing hardware business. "
Due to the industry and the company's own reasons, Hammer Technology had to shelve the VR project, but Luo Yonghao has always been optimistic.
In fact, hammer technology was not only defined as a mobile phone company in the early days, but was involved in various fields of technology. In addition, as early as 20 17, he had expressed his optimism about VR in a long talk with Luo Zhenyu, and even making a mobile phone was just waiting for the arrival of the VR era. He said, "The reason why you make a mobile phone so hard and so tired is actually waiting for the revolution of the next computing platform, because VR glasses are an indispensable role in the next generation platform revolution. The hardware and software of mobile phones, tablets and computers are all ready before VR glasses can be made. "
In 2020, at an event in Geek Park, he also reiterated this view: long-term optimism about the AR/VR market and making products in the future are probably the direction of AR/VR.
The meta-universe exploded, and VR/AR/MR warmed up.
Hammer has been involved in VR field for six years, and great changes have taken place in VR/AR/MR industry.
Chen Meng, an entrepreneur who started preparing for the VR project on 20 15, told Pencil that the VR industry was highly sought after by the venture capital circle at that time, and almost everyone in the market was talking about the subversive innovation of VR, saying that VR was the "next screen" and would replace mobile phones and PCs.
20 16 is called "the first year of VR" by the industry. "Doing hardware, playing games and making platforms, makers flock to the VR industry. At that time, there were thousands of VR-related enterprises in the country. " Chen Meng recalled the scene at that time.
However, after two years of "catch-up period" in VR industry, the market began to deteriorate year by year, but the heat gradually weakened and even faced signs of recession. "At the end of 20 16, it was said that the vent of VR would come at 20 17, and later it was changed to 20 18 and 20 19, but until the concept of meta-universe was heated up, the vent of VR did not really come." He said with emotion.
In the years of decline, a large number of VR companies reported negative news. Storm Mirror laid off a large number of employees, and the VR company Zhongjing Vision and Mido Entertainment were exposed to millions of employees' wages. Many offline VR experience stores didn't live long. According to the data of "White Paper on the Operation of VR Experience Store in China", VR is a new industry, lacking previous experience. Most operators face poor management, and less than 30% of VR experience stores can make a profit.
Chen Meng originally thought that the VR industry would continue to be silent, but in the past two years, the VR industry has ushered in a recovery, and VR and other fields have once again become the beacon of capital. According to statistics, in 2020, the global VR/AR investment and financing scale reached 24.4 billion yuan, and there were 220 investment and financing mergers and acquisitions, both of which increased for three consecutive years.
After thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi, the market has also begun to be optimistic about this old track. According to IDC's forecast, during 20021-2025, the global shipments of VR virtual reality products are expected to reach an average annual growth rate of about 4 1.4%, and the shipments of AR augmented reality products are expected to reach an average annual growth rate of about 138%. In 2024, the OEM space of VR/AR market is expected to grow to more than 200 billion, with a compound growth rate of 92%.
More importantly, with the popularity of the concept of meta-universe, the VR/AR/MR industry has once again ushered in vitality. Some analysts believe that the development of VR/AR/MR technology directly affects the status quo of the meta-cosmic industry. As mentioned in the article shared by Luo Yonghao, the hyperuniverse is still a concept, not an opportunity. The hardware devices that the hyperuniverse needs to rely on are VR and AR. For example, if the hyperuniverse is the mobile Internet, then VR and AR devices are smart phones.
This has led to a phenomenon: in the initial stage of the meta-universe concept hype, games and VR have become the entry points for many listed companies and startups to connect with the meta-universe. "Now many related entrepreneurs, whether communicating with people or BP in their hands,' meta-universe' is a frequently mentioned word." Chen Meng said.
After the first year of VR, 202 1 is also called the first year of metauniverse. In Chen Meng's eyes, the current venture capital circles are speculating in the meta-universe, much like when VR was sought after.
The market no longer believes in stories.
At the end of 20 15, VR startups were full of energy, but most of them were small companies with weak technology accumulation, and they were in the stage of financing in the primary market with stories.
But now, the VR/AR/MR industry is no longer a small fight between startups. The market environment faced by Luo Yonghao is different from that at that time, and many giants have invested huge sums of money to enter the market.
For example, in August, 20021,ByteDance acquired Pico, a VR startup company, which is the largest VR market in China at present, with a market share of 4 1%. According to industry media reports, the transaction amount exceeded 9 billion yuan. A senior practitioner familiar with the transaction process said in an interview with the media that Tencent spoke highly of Pico and was willing to buy it, but in the end ByteDance won at a higher premium.
Tencent also holds a 40% stake in Epic Games, an AR/VR game developer; Iqiyi also launched the all-in-one iIqiyi Adventure DreamVR machine based on OculusQuest2.
Like the situation when the hammer mobile phone was born, if Luo Yonghao wants to start a business in VR/AR/MR, it also needs to open up a world among many big factories.
In addition to competitors, Luo Yonghao is also facing changes in the general environment. Even though everyone is shouting that VR represents the future of the Internet, we have to admit that there are still many problems to be solved in today's VR industry.
In Chen Meng's view, the reason why the VR industry was not as good as it was a year ago was because its commercialization path was not opened, and the whole industry was always in the exploration period of pure burning money. Now even if the concept of meta-universe appears, it is true.
Although VR has been heated in the industry, its industrial maturity is far less than that of personal computers, smart phones and other industries.
Content is also one of the important shortcomings. At present, the domestic VR content industry has been limited by factors such as insufficient downstream applications, insufficient penetration of terminal equipment, and insufficient high-quality content. Some people think that domestic VR content has not fully kept up. The most important reason is that the hardware itself did not provide enough soil before. For businesses, there is not enough soil, even if the investment is a preliminary test of water, it will not form a commercial scale effect.
After the industry is more mature, compliance and commercialization can fully land, industries such as VR can truly become a part of the meta-universe.
In May, 20021,in the talk show My Bronze Age, Luo Yonghao answered many people's questions: Why did he insist on starting a business in the technology industry? Luo Yonghao said that he firmly believed that making technical products was on the node of promoting the development of the world. Later, he wanted to make platform-level products combining software and hardware instead of making money wholeheartedly.
To some extent, VR/AR/MR represents the future of the Internet. It can even be said that these industries may be stepping on the node of "promoting world development". But as an industry that has climbed out of the bottom, it can no longer impress others through slogans. After all, the VR wave of 20 16 has shown that the market is not short of stories, and it still needs a product that really gives people confidence.