Chinese VR headset firm Pico Raises US$24.7 million in Series A

vivian

August 3, 2018

Pico

3/8/2018 – Pico, a Chinese VR headset manufacturer based in Beijing is increasing its investment in 3D sensing and augmented reality (AR) technologies after raising US$24.7 million in a Series A financing round co-led by GF Qianhe and GF Xinde Investment.

The funding round, which is the first public financing for the Chinese manufacturer since it was set up in 2015, was also joined by Jufeng S&T Venture Investments and other investors.

Pico claims to be the leading VR manufacturer in China, having released Pico Neo DK, the world’s first all-in-one VR headset based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 platform from two years ago.

The startup then released its Goblin series, which the company claims to be the most widely sold all-in-one VR headset in 2017. Meanwhile, Pico Neo, the world’s first 6 DoF all-in-one was also launched at the end of the same year.

“Pico will keep focusing on all-in-one VR and will also increase its investment in 3D sensing (TOF) and AR technologies in the near future. In the future, Pico hopes to become a portal-level AI vision company through the layout of VR+AR+TOF technology and products,” said Pico CEO Henry Zhou.

According to Pico, the platform currently owns 435 domestic authorized patents and 192 authorized overseas patents. The team has more than 300 employees with offices located in Beijing, Qingdao, San Francisco, Tokyo, Barcelona and other countrie.

Aside from manufacturing VRs for PC or console-based systems, Pico is also actively deploying on the B2B side, involving itself in sectors of education, real estate, insurance, automotive, medical, and other fields.

Besides, Pico has also forged an in-depth cooperation with brands such as China Life, Mengniu, Toyota and Volkswagen to implement VR/AR for efficient industrial application solutions.

Moving forward, the startup will continue to be loyal to its strategic focus on manufacturing a standalone all-in-one VR machine, with Pico Neo as its flagship technology and the Goblin series aimed at the mass market.

Its AR products are also expected to be available in 2019. As for TOF, Pico will continue to improve its 3D depth camera module, core algorithm, and the overall solution of AI IoT.

Pico will also focus on new retail, fatigue monitoring, and other usage scenarios to provide interactive support for its own VR/AR products.

vivian

Vivian Foo is a reporter who writes about Southeast Asia’s technology and startup space. The entry point which led her to write about the startup ecosystem was her fascination of the dot-com boom. She is taking a deep dive into how the entrepreneurial mindset works and hopes to share the insights, innovation, and stories of the startups with her readers.