Blackeye Partners with NZVRARA

Blackeye Partners with NZVRARA To Support the New Zealand VR/AR Community

The NZVRARA (The New Zealand VR/AR Association Inc.) and Wellington-based Blackeye VR Limited have announced a strategic partnership between the two entities to jointly promote the fast-growing New Zealand VR/AR sector and accelerate adoption of virtual and augmented reality technologies within New Zealand organisations.

Blackeye VR was founded in September 2016, the same month as the Association incorporated its organisation, and since then has focused its early efforts on educating New Zealand companies about the benefits of adopting virtual, augmented and mixed reality solutions through its consulting activities.

Since July 2017, Blackeye and the NZVRARA have been working closely together to produce an informative report on the current state of the wider cross reality sector. A second companion report is planned to be released later in 2017. As a Strategic Partner, Blackeye is providing funds and an in-kind contribution to help accelerate the growth of the industry.

Blackeye VR director and shareholder, Michael Gregg was the founding Chair of the NZVRARA Incorporated and is currently serving his second term as Chair and Executive Committee member.

The company was pivotal in the establishment of Wellington’s XR industry co-working, collaborative R&D and events space, PROJECTR® and remains a cornerstone shareholder in this industry-good initiative.

The New Zealand VR/AR Association was established to champion, support and grow innovation in the virtual, augmented and mixed reality sectors throughout New Zealand with objectives of promoting collaboration, education, R&D and economic development for the benefit of its over 100 sector members.

This strategic partnership formalises the roles of both organisations to work together to accelerate the education, development and evolution of this burgeoning sector.

Blackeye’s Michael Gregg is passionate about supporting collaboration between sector companies as a way of accelerating expansion. “I’m really excited about using immersive technologies to create stories and build brands. I believe we have a window of opportunity as a sector to leverage our position as an early adopting nation,” states Michael.

Blackeye is focusing on Singapore, Taiwan and Los Angeles as early stage locations to undertake international assignments. Michael is confident this is the best way for his business to expand and acknowledges a powerful role for the NZVRARA in making this happen. “We are building a strong base of early expertise here talking to and working with a wide range of New Zealand sector companies. I’m excited about the potential of being part of taking this shared capability offshore to assist international brands and grow a strong export business. Being a member of the NZVRARA has introduced me to a motivated group of like-minded colleagues.”

NZVRARA Executive Director, Courteney Lomas agrees. “Having the NZVRARA as a talent aggregator and sector promoter, an educator and a networking resource for our industry represents a fantastic opportunity for all of our members to grow and having strategic partners such as Blackeye can help make all of this happen faster.”

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