Unity Technologies & GSV Ventures
You may have heard of Unity Technologies over the past year. It would be hard not to after their $13.6 Billion IPO in September of 2020 and their impact on the gaming and e-sports world through their game development software, Unity Engine. However, you might not know that Unity Engine isn’t just for games. Today, Unity is used worldwide to create everything from VFX for films and product commercials to fully immersive virtual reality (VR) training in EdTech. This ability has made Unity Engine our go-to tool for creating VR simulations.
Unity has realized the power of its Engine for these immersive experiences and has spent the last few years using its products, technology, and expertise to support more than 400,000 students and educators learning Unity Engine every year.
That is why in August of 2021, Unity partnered with GSV Ventures, the leading EdTech investment firm, funding $7+ trillion in the education technology sector. Together, they launched the EdTech Creator Challenge to empower creators to continue to change the landscape of education and support all learners using Unity.
EdTech Selection Criteria
Over the past three months, Unity and GSV assembled a team of over 60 internal and external judges to review and rate the 250 EdTech submissions they received based on the following criteria:
People: Is the team inclusive, and what populations are supported by this organization?
Product: Does this address a critical need and use real-time 3D technology in a unique way?
Potential: What is the traction and impact to date, and does this have global potential?
Predictability: What are the near-term milestones (financial and other), and are they achievable?
Purpose: What are the organization’s mission and impact goals?
What Does This Mean For XpertVR
Over the past five years, the team at XpertVR has been hard at work creating VR simulations for research and training. We are proud of our impact, already giving 1000’s of students across Canada hands-on learning materials every semester. That said, we know we can do so much more for the EdTech community and help students find their passion.
Being recognized as the only Canadian company in Unity’s Top 25 EdTech Creators globally concretes the idea that there is genuine potential for innovation through VR in Canada. For us, this recognition solidifies a growing appetite for the research and innovations that we can uniquely provide through VR.
Yet this recognition also shows that XpertVR and the rest of the Canadian XR community are only just scratching the surface of the potential to use virtual reality for research, innovation and learning.