Request for Startups

Sometimes, you want to apply to an incubator like Play Labs but haven't yet decided on the idea you want to work on.  

This Request for Startups is basically a list of areas that we are interested in, and we'd love to have talented founders take a look at these areas.

NOTE: If you already have an idea you are excited about, you should definitely apply with your idea.  On the other hand, if you are say, a great technical founder, but haven't yet decided waht you want to work on, then take a look at these areas and see if one calls out to you.

Feel free to email us at info@playlabs.tv if you have questions about any of these or are a technical or business co founder looking for a team or an idea.

  • Social VR/AR applications - both physical & virtual interaction (what could a VR theme park, how do families engage in VR experiences, thinking beyond one person in a headset and beyond play as novelty)
     
  • eSports.   We are big believers in eSports.  The younger generation doesn't want to watch professionals playing football or basketball nearly as much as watching the best CS:GO or LOL  players compete.  There are many possibilities in this field.   
    • tools for creating, analytics, new games made for esports experiences (both for existing esport audiences & new), new modes of spectation, tools for broadcasting & commentators
       
  • 360 videos.  360 Videos have taken the world by storm.  Not only are they supported by Youtube, Facebook, and others, but Hollywood and entertainment types are jumping on the bandwagon.  Moreover, for VR headsets, one of the most popular activities to date is to watch 360 videos.  We believe the emergence of VR/AR headsets may require a rethinking of how video is stored, edited and streamed.
    • tools for creating, editing, storing, streaming, viewing, compressing for both live action and for virtual gameplay and virtual worlds. 
  • Playful civic engagement - apps/platforms engaging communities with politics, news, governance in positive and beneficial ways, helping people understand the world around them and how they are a part of it

  • VR/AR games for understanding & solving problems -  learning games that go beyond training & skills assessment.

  • 3D Modeling, Rendering - for the most part, existing 3D models and tools have been built for rendering scenes, characters in 2D formats - games on a computer screen, special effects on a movie or TV screen. 

  • AR/VR with the real world - tools for modeling actual physical places and bring them into virtual worlds.
     
  • VR/AR games - we'd like to see games which provide a different perspective, not simply a VR version of a first person shooter.
     
  • Analytics and tools for VR/AR environments - how does analytics change in a virtual environment? Tools to make building VR/AR projects easier.
     
  • AI / machine vision - as the real world and the virtual worlds are more integrated, there need to be better algorithms and tools for incorporating machine vision into applications.
     
  • Entertainment - VR/AR is not just another platform but a different type of entertainment platform.  How would you design movies, shows, or other experiences that are VR from the ground up, rather than adapting existing entertainment experiences into VR?
     
  • Business application for VR/AR - Some people think that the killer apps for VR (and particularly AR headsets) are business applications.  Places where VR/AR headsets can reside for specific business purposes - we'd like to see startups tackle these problems.