VR Education gets China boost with HTC Vive deal

HTC is to include Waterford-based VR Education's software on its new virtual reality headset in China, a move that is expected to increase the roll-out of the Irish company's Engage platform.

The software, which is sold as Vive Sessions in China, will be bundled with the education and enterprise-focused Vive Focus 3 XR, and will also be made available on the new HP ProBook laptops sold in China.

VR Education's chief executive David Whelan said the inclusion of the software for both platforms was "fantastic news".

“The launch of Vive Focus 3 is the trigger for increased marketing and business development from HTC as part of our partnership, and we expect the take-up of Vive Sessions to increase,” he said. “We believe these announcements represent a major step in our China rollout. China is the fastest-growing immersive market in the world.”

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The Engage platform, which was launched in May 2019, reached 100 commercial customers earlier in May, a milestone for the platform.

HTC holds a 20 per cent stake in the Irish company. HTC's China president Alvin Wang Graylin said the company believed strongly in the potential of virtual events platforms to transform business, learning and entertainment.

“We have held both our major events this week, Vivecon and V2EC, in the Engage/Vive Sessions platform, enabling tens of thousands of people to have an interactive spatial experience without leaving their homes or getting on a plane,” he said. “We are excited to be bundling a three-month free licence of the Vive Sessions product as part of the Vive XR Suite with every new VIVE Pro 2 and Vive Focus 3 device that has just launched.”