Niantic acquires WebAR experts 8th Wall to expand metaverse platform

Niantic is continuing its evolution from an AR game developer to a complete platform for building metaverse experiences.

Once upon a time, Niantic was an exciting but relatively unknown company behind the pioneering (and highly underrated) AR game Ingress. Niantic then released Pokemon Go and was catapulted into the spotlight.

The hype around Pokemon Go may have faded but Niantic hasn’t stopped working. The company has been using its experience in live, large-scale AR...

11 March 2022 | Development Tools

Omniverse Code helps developers to build 3D design and simulation tools

Nvidia has announced Omniverse Code, a new app to make it easier for developers to build advanced tools for 3D design and simulation.

The app includes the Omniverse Kit SDK runtime along with foundational tools, templates, and documentation. Developers won’t have to build from scratch with hundreds of Omniverse Extensions available to edit, modify, or integrate into their own extensions or applications.

Interactive documentation helps users to experience features like...

2 February 2022 | Development Tools

App Annie: Users downloaded 230B apps in 2021, spent 3.8T hours using them

A report from App Annie highlights the staggering growth the mobile app ecosystem witnessed last year.

According to the analytics firm’s State of Mobile 2022 report, users downloaded around 230 billion apps in 2021.

Theodore Krantz, Chief Executive Officer of App Annie, said:

“The big screen is slowly dying as mobile continues to break records in virtually every category - time spent, downloads and revenue.”

Chinese users downloaded the most...

12 January 2022 | Android

Kuo: Apple’s AR headset to have ‘significantly higher’ computing power than iPhone

Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the expected Apple AR headset will have “significantly higher” computing power than iPhone.

In a research note for investors, Kuo wrote: “Our latest survey indicates that each Apple AR/MR headset will adopt two CPUs made of 4nm and 5nm... which is higher than our previous estimation and market consensus of one."

The computing power of the device will mean that it will use the same 96W charger used for the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The...

11 January 2022 | Gaming

Ethereum still has the most Web 3.0 developers, but rivals are growing faster

Decentralised app platform Ethereum still has the most Web 3.0 developers, but it’s all to play for with rivals growing faster.

The data comes from research firm Electric Capital which released a report this week into the Web 3.0 development ecosystem.

Electric Capital found that more than 4,000 developers actively work on Ethereum per month. 

For comparison, just 680 developers actively work on Bitcoin per month. It’s a huge disparity, but it’s...

6 January 2022 | Blockchain

Niantic gets additional support for building the metaverse as valuation hits $9B

Niantic is emerging as a key player in building the metaverse and investors are keen to get in on the action.

Tech-focused investment firm Coatue has invested $300 million in Niantic, bringing the company’s valuation to $9 billion.

Matt Mazzeo, a General Partner at Coatue, said:

“Niantic is building a platform for AR based on a 3D map of the world that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing.

We are excited to partner...

23 November 2021 | Gaming

Unity is buying Peter Jackson’s visual effects company for $1.6B

Unity has announced that it’s entered a definitive agreement to acquire Peter Jackson’s visual effects company Weta Digital for $1.6 billion.

Weta Digital has worked on hit films including Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Wonder Woman, and Black Widow. Unity says its acquisition will “democratise” Weta’s powerful tools to make them available for more creators.

“Weta Digital’s pipeline represents the most complete toolchain for 3D creation, simulation, and...

10 November 2021 | Development Tools