01 Jul BIPOC Virtual and Extended Reality Companies
Virtual and Extended Reality (VR/XR) is becoming more of a household name these days. People are using technology to create and strengthen communities. Many see a need within a space and are developing an entire company to provide for that need, whether it be to create an event, take a classroom through a historical event, or tour a volcano. These creators and innovators have turned their passion into places where they can thrive and encourage others to use their limitless imaginations.
Sievent
Michael Purnell and Wesley Alexander are the founders of Sievent. This platform is an all-in-one Virtual Reality (VR) social event ticketing app that makes selling tickets more accessible and faster. They saw a need for a platform that would help communities know when events were happening around them. Not only would it help increase awareness and ticket sales, but it also helps people interact and experience an event virtually. From Coachella to a cooking workshop, you can create an event, increase ticket sales, and have the viewer seated in the front row of the event in the privacy of their own home.
Photos: Black Business and Black Enterprise
Michael Purnell, Co-Founder of Sievent
Hyphen Labs
Hyphen Labs is an international team of women of color who bring together art, science, and technology. They test the boundaries in the technology space by combining their diverse expertise in game design, coding, engineering, molecular biology, and architecture. One of their animations, NeuroSpeculative AfroFemininism (NSAF), is an award-winning animation with a three-part digital narrative. It is a trifecta of product design, VR, and neuroscience. The project was inspired by the lack of black women being represented in the multidimensional and technology space.
Photos: Hyphen Labs website
Crux
Crux was founded in 2017 by Lauren Ruffin and Dafina McMillan. They made it their mission to create a community that lifts and supports black artists in XR, and it is the first platform focused on immersive content from black creators. Lauren was immediately fascinated by the VR medium and saw a need to make sure that black artists and storytellers had a place to be supported. Not only do they reinforce creators, they help to build profiles and offer funding if needed.
Photos: Kaleidoscope
Hear more from Co-founder Lauren and how Crux is the future of Black Storytelling in XR.
Kai XR
Kai Frazier is the Founder and CEO of Kai XR. The history teacher saw how young minds could learn and experience the world and history through the lenses of VR. She noticed her student’s response to VR and the educational opportunities there, so she began Kai XR. The platform is kid-friendly, allowing them to create and explore in VR, and Kai believes that accessibility and inclusion in education should be a priority.
Photo: Mozilla
