Why we invested in Spatial

I’m excited to share the launch of Spatial, a NY-based company building technology to enable collective computing through augmented reality applications.

At Samsung NEXT, we believe that AR has the potential to re-shape how people interact with the world and with each other. But we also know that no one is going to use AR -- or any new technology -- unless the user experience is great.

In Spatial, we are betting on a vision for AR that was far beyond anything we had tried at the time we invested. We also are betting on a pair of supremely talented founders in Anand and Jinha who are early pioneers in the field of 3-D computing, with both having given legendary TED talks on the subject, and who have been instrumental in building such interfaces at Google and Samsung respectively.

In short, we saw the opportunity to invest in, and learn from, a world-class UI/UX design team at the cutting edge of augmented reality and three-dimensional computing.

Today Spatial is launching the first application of its technology, which will change the way people work, by enabling users to teleport their presence anywhere, visualize ideas effortlessly, extend their devices seamlessly.

Spatial’s tech can turn any room into an infinite 3D workspace, enabling local and remote participants to feel like they are collaborating in the same place. It works with AR headsets like Microsoft HoloLens as well as VR headsets. But critically, it also can accessed via Spatial’s mobile app or web browser making it accessible to all.

Whether it’s enabling sharing within a typical office environment, interactive design, worker training, or more efficient customer sales, Spatial imbues users with superpowers to collaborate more effectively.

The launch is a huge step forward for Spatial, but the company’s vision is bigger than just one product. They are creating an operating system for AR applications and building the foundations for the future of work. We’re excited to support them in this journey!