VR monetization strategy across all platforms can be classified into 3 parts:

a) Transactional - Pay per view/download and in-app purchases

b) Subscription - Netflix/Spotify-esque platforms for VR content

c)Sponsored - Content monetized via brands and ads

Transactional is the go-to strategy for PC VR indie developers (Rift, Vive, PSVR) and has worked fairly well for top publishers. Premium content on these platforms will always be able to demand money upfront. We haven't seen a successful subscription VR content provider, but Steam (with HTC) recently announced plans around it.

Most viable monetization for mobile VR is going to be ad-supported. It is hard to imagine consumers willing to pay for each mobile VR experience they use. And it is even harder to imagine VR not being mass-adopted via smartphones. Going forward, Mobile VR promises immense scale to publishers, to rely primarily on ads for monetization.

Excellent question and something which we brainstorm everyday. As you correctly referred to the chicken-egg problem, ours is a Publisher-first strategy.

Currently it is tough to show scale to brands, so we primarily work with VR publishers. They're competing tightly for user engagement/retention and hence our offering to them is cross-promotion. We help them achieve scale via increased downloads/views, eventually enabling them to run ad-campaings for traditional brands.

VR publishers are interested in reaching out to new users, while they're using VR. Basically, assume it to be a barter-system among VR publishers, each helping other increased engagement.

Having said that, our platform is fully capable of running brand advertisements and we've recently partnered with a very large Korean electronics brand. (No points for guessing :p).

Biggest lesson while starting-up for an early stage platform like VR is to take projection/growth numbers from so-called industry analysts and experts with a pinch of salt with never losing focus on product. It is easy to get carried away either way.

Consumer VR headsets were launched in Q1 2016, and we have observed steady growth in adoption since then, yet everyone in the industry is still trying to figure the "killer app". VR startups with a lean and patient strategy will win in longer run.

VR AdTech is still in infancy, with no major standardization across formats, CPMs, Ad analytics etc. Having said that, there is a growing need for developers to monetize content. Consumer adoption is increasing and VR will soon reach a scale where ad-based monetization is a viable revenue strategy for mobile VR developers.

There are several players (total of 5-7) in this early market with different offerings and approaches. Omnivirt, Immersv and Vertebrae are our closest competitors, though their target market is 360/VR Ads on 2D mobile apps, while we serve 360/VR Ads on purely VR apps, to justify the immersive-ness that we promise to our advertising partners.

Established players like Facebook, Google and others are more focussed on fostering the overall VR ecosystem, and AdTech seems a bit far off on their strategy. Though, HTC recently announced an ad platform for their publishers, which is step in the right direction.

A very recurring theme of skepticism from "outsiders" (mostly people who haven't experienced VR truly) is that virtual reality is just another Google Glass/3DTV kind of cool technology which will never achieve the hyped promise.

While it is easy to compare, most important thing which people miss out on is content-focussed sales strategy. Oculus, HTC, Sony, Google understands that their hardware is nothing without content, and hence we see all major players very actively engaged with developer community through massive financial and technical support. Facebook has committed a total of $500M to developing VR games and content and HTC has an excellent VR incubation program.

Glass/3DTV developer ecosystem never really took-off as hardware companies didn't really prioritize on content. We see a very different approach from VR industry.

Commonlounge Team - Thank you hosting me here. Will soon start replying to the questions posted here.

As Anant mentioned, Cardboard is the easiest way to experience VR through your Android/iPhone. If you own a Google Pixel or Samsung S6/S7/Note 5 - you can go for Daydream and Gear VR respectively. Fairly affordable devices (<$100) and has a much better overall experience compared to Cardboard.

Almost every new signature Android phone coming out this year will be Daydream-enabled. HTC is also pushing to enter Mobile VR market and Apple is rumored to be launching a Mixed Reality headset in 2017.

Though, truly immersive experiences are only possible on high-end PC VR headsets, I strongly believe mobile is going to be the platform for mass-adoption of VR/AR.