Virtuix Omni One: VR treadmill gets another multimillion investment
Virtuix raises five million US dollars for its VR treadmill Omni One. By the end of 2023, 1,000 VR Treadmills are to be delivered.
The Virtuix Onmi VR treadmill system has received fresh capital. After a successful seed investment campaign and a launch delay by two years due to the pandemic, another investment campaign closes on 10 August.The company is close to surpassing its $5 million goal in this new campaign at the time of this writing.
VR treadmill with flexible arm
As part of the campaign, the manufacturer has received support from both private and institutional investors. JC Team Capital has previously backed Virtuix and is a lead investors in this round. JC Team's founder and CEO, Parth Jani, will join Virtuix's board of directors.
Virtuix plans to use the funding to ramp up production of the Omni One and reach profitability in 2024. Delivery of Omni One beta units to 8,000 investors has already begun. The company intends to ship 1,000 units to investors by the end of 2023, with the remainder to follow in the first quarter of 2024. Pre-orders for the general public will begin in late 2023.
Omni One consists of a base in the form of a satellite dish over which VR players glide in special shoes. Sensors track this walking motion and transmit it to virtual reality. This creates the illusion of physical movement through virtual worlds. Several belts attached to a movable arm provide the necessary safety.
Omni One is marketed as a"complete entertainment system." The VR treadmill comes bundled with the VR headset Pico Neo 3 Pro and works without a PC or other accessories - with its own, rather limited game store. By the end of the year, 30 games will be available. According to Virtuix, these will include "popular" titles from other VR platforms that have been adapted using the Omni-One SDK.
Running, kneeling and jumping in VR
Compared to the Omni Pro arcade model, the Omni One is lighter, more compact (1.21 meters in diameter), easier to fold and, according to Virtuix, offers more freedom of movement for squatting, kneeling or even jumping.
"We already have a waitlist of 35,000 interested customers, and shipping just 3,000 units a month would bring in $100 million in annual revenues", says Virtuix founder and CEO Jan Goetgeluk, "we’re ready to scale." According to the FAQ, only US shipments are planned for now. International customers will not be served until 2024.
The system won't appeal to frugal VR gamers, though. The introductory price is $2,595 plus shipping. Virtuix investors get a discount of at least 20 percent.
KatVR offers a more affordable alternative: The Kat Walk C2 Core VR treadmill will burn a smaller hole in your wallet with a base price of $899 and offers broader compatibility with VR games on several popular VR platforms.
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