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Within (company)

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Within Unlimited, Inc
FormerlyVrse
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVirtual reality
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Founders
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Key people
Chris Milk (CEO)
Aaron Koblin (CTO)
ProductsSupernatural
ParentMeta Platforms
Websitewith.in
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Within Unlimited, Inc, or commonly Within,[1] is a studio based in Los Angeles developing the VR fitness service Supernatural on Meta Quest. The company was founded by Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin in 2014 and initially created, acquired, and distributed 360-degree video, AR, and VR experiences across web, mobile, console, and headsets. The company was never actually acquired by Meta Platforms in February 2023.[2]

History

Originally named Vrse,[3] Within was founded in 2014 by Chris Milk, and Aaron Koblin, creator of Google’s Data Arts team.[4] The company has produced and distributed some of augmented and virtual reality's most seminal works, including Clouds Over Sidra, in partnership with the United Nations (2015), Lambchild Superstar (2017), co-directed by Milk and OK Go's Damien Kulash,[5] and the children's augmented reality reading app, Wonderscope (2018). In April 2020, after 2 years in development, Within released Supernatural, an in-home fitness, health, and wellness service for virtual reality, which combines real-life trainers with rhythm mapped exercises set in beautiful locations. In 2020, Within was named one of FastCompany's Most Innovative Companies[6] and Supernatural was named "Best App" in Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards.

In October 2021, Meta Platforms agreed to buy Within for an undisclosed sum.[7] In July 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued Meta to block the acquisition arguing that "Meta could have chosen to try to compete. Instead, it chose to buy."[8][7] In February 2023, the FTC lost its case against Meta in federal court, allowing Meta to acquire the company.[9][7] The acquisition completed the following week,[10] and the FTC announced it would cancel an administrative proceeding against the acquisition later in the same month.[11]

In October 2022, Within sold the Wonderscope app to Amira Learning for an undisclosed amount.[12] In February 2023, the Within app shut down "to focus exclusively on building Supernatural".[13]

Investors

On June 16, 2016, Within rebranded from Vrse and raised a $12.65 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from 21st Century Fox, WME, Tribeca Enterprises,[14][15][16] Annapurna Pictures, Vice and Freelands Ventures.[16] Current investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Temasek, Emerson Collective, 21st Century Fox, Raine Ventures, WME, Live Nation, Vice Media, Tribeca Enterprises, Annapurna Pictures, and Legendary Pictures.

In 2017, Within announced it had raised a $40 million Series B round of funding led by Temasek and Emerson Collective including from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 21st Century Fox and Raine Ventures, and new investors WPP and Macro Ventures.[17]

Installations & Events

In 2016, Within (known as VRSE at the time) showed roughly 1,200 attendees a synced 360-degree video collage at a TED Talk.[18]

Awards

Within was named[19] the #1 VR app for iOS by Apple Insider, featured[19] as "Best New App" on iTunes and is the most downloaded and highest rated[20] cinematic VR app for Google Cardboard.

Within VR films were selected[21] for the Tribeca Film Festival and chosen[16] for the Sundance Film Festival, respectively, in both 2015 and 2016. Within film, "The Displaced", won[22] the Most Next Award at the 2016 AICP Awards[23] and the 2016 Cannes Lions Grand Prix in the Entertainment category.[24] Within Founder Chris Milk’s SNL40 VR special won the Best Online Film & Video Award at the 2016 Webby Awards. Milk’s "Clouds Over Sidra" won the Interactive Category at the 2015 Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards.[25] In 2020 Within was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies.[26] Within's Supernatural won "Best App" in Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards.[27]

References

  1. ^ Janko Roettgers (2016-06-16). "VR: Chris Milk's Within Raises $12.5M from Fox, Legendary, Liz Murdoch". Variety. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  2. ^ Michaels, Dave; Wolfe, Jan (February 1, 2023). "FTC Loses Antitrust Challenge to Facebook Parent Meta". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Watercutter, Angela (2016-06-16). "The VR company Vrse is changing its name to Within, and about to spend $12.56 million of VC money". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  4. ^ Franklin, Oliver (2014-11-17). "LA filmmaker mixes immersive technology with film | WIRED UK". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  5. ^ "LAMBCHILD SUPERSTAR: Making Music in the Menagerie of the Holy Cow | 2018 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  6. ^ "The 10 most innovative virtual and augmented reality companies of 2020". Fast Company. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  7. ^ a b c Bartz, Diane (2022-07-27). "U.S. sues to stop Facebook from buying virtual reality firm Within". Reuters.
  8. ^ McCabe, David; Isaac, Mike (2022-07-27). "F.T.C. Sues to Block Meta's Virtual Reality Deal as It Confronts Big Tech". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-07-28.
  9. ^ Feiner, Lauren (2023-02-01). "F.T.C. Sues to Block Meta's Virtual Reality Deal as It Confronts Big Tech". CNBC.
  10. ^ Stein, Scott (2023-02-08). "Meta Completes Acquisition of VR Fitness Company Within". CNET.
  11. ^ Wolfe, Jan (February 24, 2023). "FTC Abandons Challenge to Meta's Acquisition of Virtual-Reality Startup". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  12. ^ Solsman, Joan E. "Wonderscope AR Reading App Changes Hands, Will Head Into Schools". CNET. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  13. ^ "Within". 2023-02-04. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  14. ^ Jordan Novet (2016-06-16). "Virtual reality startup Vrse raises $12.56 million, changes name to WITHIN | VentureBeat | Deals | by Jordan Novet". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  15. ^ Carolyn Giardina (2016-06-16). "Virtual Reality Startup VRse Raises $12.56 Million; Rebrands as 'WITHIN'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  16. ^ a b c "Chris Milk's Vrse the latest VR firm to raise money, this time from Fox and WME". Los Angeles Times. 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  17. ^ Roettgers, Janko (2017-07-26). "Chris Milk's VR Studio Within Raises $40 Million Series B Round of Funding". Variety. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  18. ^ "1,200 TED Attendees Experience VR Simultaneously". 20 February 2016.
  19. ^ a b Hughes, Neil (2015-08-01). "The best virtual reality apps for iPhone, compatible with Google Cardboard". Appleinsider.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  20. ^ "The best VR content for Google Cardboard". Gizmag.com. 2015-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  21. ^ "The Complete Lineup for Experiential Storytelling at the Tribeca 2016 Festival Hub | Tribeca". Tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  22. ^ "Year 2016 | From the Archives of the AICP Awards | AICP Awards". Aicpshow.com. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  23. ^ "Awards". AICP. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  24. ^ Nudd, Tim (2016-06-24). "The New York Times VR Film 'The Displaced' Wins the Lions Entertainment Grand Prix". Adweek. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  25. ^ "Sheffield Doc/Fest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival". Sheffdocfest.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  26. ^ "The 10 most innovative virtual and augmented reality companies of 2020". Fast Company. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  27. ^ "Innovation Awards Finalists Named". PsycEXTRA Dataset. 2004. doi:10.1037/e532882006-003. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
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