Apple last night unveiled a mixed reality headset called Vision Pro – its first entirely new product in eight years.
The device blends a video feed from the outside world with a virtual world displayed on screens inside the headset.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing,” says Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing.”
“Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before – with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.”
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 5, 2023
As a specialist in the field of virtual stores and immersive e-commerce, Emperia views this new announcement as a massive step into mass adoption of such technology, with tangible benefits for brands.
“Apple has always been a trailblazer for mass adoption with their emerging and brand new tech, take the iPhone for example. Vision Pro could be the catalyst for the mass adoption of XR”, says Olga Dogadkina, Co-founder and CEO at Emperia,
“in creating the new device, Apple is bringing a utility to XR beyond gaming. For the first time, XR headset has more actual functionality than other devices in the market, offering capabilities for work and entertainment.”
“Coupled with human interaction and a design that has all chances of gaining iconic status like most Apple products, the device will almost inevitably gain popularity. This means web UX/UI as we know it will become obsolete, limited by the 2D screen.”
She adds: “For retail, this entails a new mode of brand interaction, one that goes beyond the boundaries of a flat screen and physical space simultaneously. This means deeper customer connection, more intuitive user interactions, more personalisation of customer experience than was ever achievable before.”
Funding round
Earlier this year, Emperia raised a $10 million Series A.
This followed an $875k pre-seed in 2021 (featuring Concept Ventures, SFC Capital, Blissgrowth).
The Series A round was led by Base10 Partners and joined by investors including Daphni (via its retail fund Dastore), Sony Innovation Fund, Background Capital, Stanford Capital Partners and Concept Ventures. Angels include Blissgrowth’s Jay Radia.
Emperia’s clients include Dior, Bloomingdales and Lacoste. It was launched by fashion and retail specialist Dogadkina and VR innovation expert Simonas Holcmann in 2019.
It will use this fresh funding to grow its team, develop its virtual store SaaS platform and deepen the capabilities of the data suite that powers it, with the aim of accelerating global market presence .
It also plans to utilise virtual store customer data to provide retailers with even better tools with which to personalise the customer experience.
Emperia will also work with partners to bring various global virtual e-commerce solutions under one roof; leveraging the fast growing Web3 ecosystem and its partners’ brand and retail technologies to deliver “game changing customer experiences”.
Dogadkina commented: “While working in fashion, it became clear to me that e-commerce was the future, but 2D websites were merely a tool that enabled an online purchase, but were lacking the customer journey and story-telling that brands are after.”
“The solution was to bridge that gap, with the aim of making virtual experiences into the future of brands’ long-term e-commerce strategy.”
“We are strong believers in data reliance and as such all our virtual experiences are developed incorporating analytics, which is reflected in layout, design, user experience and merchandise placement. Crucially, we’re doing this in a way that has a demonstrable impact on sales, traffic, engagement and brand perception.”
“I’m confident that the pool of participating investors in this round, from both the US and Europe, will make for a great network of advisors as Emperia continues its global expansion, pioneering e-commerce’s next generation. I’m looking forward to delivering an even more impactful experience for our brand partners.”
Luci Fonseca of Base10 Partners, commented: “When we met Olga and Simon, we were absolutely stunned by the high quality team they had already built and the business’ early traction.”
“The more we spoke to customers, the more we saw that Emperia is on the edge of a global revolution on how consumers interact with retailers and brands.”
“One way to think about Emperia is through the lens of ‘web 2.5’ – it is a device-agnostic bridge for brands to engage with a new generation of consumers while driving real commerce.”
“Emperia is pioneering the development of virtual store creation and maintenance, and we’re excited to be partnering with a team that is truly building for the future of e-commerce.”
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