The growth of virtual reality in Southeast Asia is a joy to watch as immersive technology creates new digital worlds for gamers and other users to experience. According to Statista Research, the VR headsets market in the region will reach USD 388.8 million in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.85% to 2028.
Singapore and Malaysia are leading the demand in adoption and usage, and the trend is likely to spread to other countries because the tech is innovative and valuable.
We explore the future of fashion wearables and tech-infused accessories in Southeast Asia
Here are several VR startups in Southeast Asia making their mark:
Lemnis Technologies
Singapore-based Lemnis Technologies aims to deliver clearer images and less eye strain on head-mounted displays using its Verifocal™ platform. The term Verifocal™ is a trademark from the word Varifocal™, meaning a lens’s focus changes as the distance and magnification become different, similar to progressive lenses.
After undergoing several funding rounds, tech giant Meta acquired Lemnis. The company seeks to make Mixed Reality (MR)—a combination of VR and Augmented Reality (AR)—viable by alleviating sensory conflicts and visual discomfort.
RunSocial
Another Singapore-based company is RunSocial, a VR mobile app available on the Google and Apple Play stores that immerses users runners into a digital running track based on a real-life global destination. The free app provides various HD video running routes, which display and adjust to a user’s running speed in real-time.
Currently, RunSocial is only for indoor running, and it is available offline and online, so users do not need an internet connection. Moreover, the app includes features like TreadTracker, which has a sensor to measure the treadmill’s speed.
Acktec Technologies
AI-based educational platform Acktec Technologies provides an immersive micro-learning ecosystem with content digitisation, eLearning resources, and a certified education marketplace. Based in Singapore, it structures and digitises learning.
In 2021, Acktec raised USD 1 million from investors like GSD Venture Studios, EduSpaze, Seeds Capital, and Govin Capital PTE Limited.
VRcollab
As the name suggests, VRcollab enables collaboration through cloud and VR-based solutions for the Building Information Modelling (BIM) sector. Its products impact engineering, architecture, and construction in Singapore and include sketching tools, BIM drawing importation, workflow planning, BIM data usage, and more.
Thus far, VRcollab has done two funding rounds, with the last one coming in 2018. Its investors include VIVE X, Entrepreneur First, SparkLabs Global Ventures, and SGInnovate.
Shinta VR
Indonesia-based Shinta VR makes immersive technology applications focusing on Virtual Reality and the Metaverse—a digital world where users can connect and collaborate. Its products include the edtech platform MilleaLab, the simulation platform SpaceCollab, and the branding solution Virtual Character System.
Shinta VR raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed round in 2021. Its investors include Tigalapan Investama Group and Investa Syailendra Nuswantara.
Mindstores
Technology solution Mindstores is another Indonesia-based company offering a VR and AR platform to enable businesses to sell their products online. Users can build an immersive and interactive virtual store network, manage their stock and other channels, and begin trading.
Mindstores’ AR and VR technologies enable customers to interact with products in novel ways. They can virtually try on clothes or select furniture and get a sense of how it will look in the real world.
Holosuit
HoloSuit is a wearable tech suit that enables wearers to experience VR and AR realities, translating motion in real-time. It comprises a universal XR controller, allowing users to feel, point, and touch 3D objects. Moreover, it has embedded full-body sensors to track movements, a patented harness for capturing motion, and nine haptic feedback devices that support bi-directional feedback.
The Singapore-based company had an Angel funding round in 2018 from Rohit Nanda, Shabir Momin, and Mohammed Sirajuddin.
Hiverlab
Finally, Singapore’s Hiverlab uses emerging technologies like VR and AR to drive digital transformation for startups in Southeast Asia and other global companies. It supports the creation of next-generation tech infrastructure and uses its cutting-edge technologies in immersion, artificial intelligence (AI), and more to boost industries.
Hiverlab’s SpatialWork solution uses AI and Machine Learning (ML) to create digital twins—a virtual representation of a real-life person or object. The CloudExpo solution is a web-based platform for creating engaging and collaborative virtual experiences. Last, it has the Hiverlab Media Library, a central location for emerging tech toolkits for AR/VR content.
Virtual reality in Southeast Asia will continue to grow as more companies invest in and develop immersive technology. More effort is necessary to attract investment to the industry, as the innovations will be crucial to how we interact in the digital world in the future.
Furthermore, governments and other stakeholders should look into developing policies to ensure that VR technology meets the highest safety standards and that users can enjoy secure virtual experiences. If regional countries collaborate, they will be able to advance the industry.