China’s VR Sector Enters Period of “Explosive” Growth

China appears to be pulling out all the stops in the research and development of key emerging technologies, including virtual reality (VR).

Credit: Reuters

The fundraising and investment volume in the Chinese VR sector more than doubled in 2021, marking a new period of “explosive” growth, touted Wang Jiangping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Citing a report by Tuoluo Research, South China Morning Post claims that funding, merger and acquisition volume in both VR and augmented reality (AR) sectors reached 6.19 billion yuan (US$871 million) in the first half of 2022, up 67% from the same period last year. That figure is only expected to accel in the coming years, with the country aiming to accelerate the output of VR to 350 billion yuan by 2026. It also wants to support up to 100 innovative “backbone” VR companies to carry out research and integrated development of the technology.

ByteDance's Pico 4 VR headset, for instance, received positive reception when it launched last month, selling more than 10,000 units in two weeks, with the competing Meta Quest 2 being unavailable in the Chinese market. The TikTok owner acquired the VR startup Pico last year.