The number of companies dedicated to Augmented and Virtual Reality in Spain grows 86,6% in two years
The number of companies dedicated to XR in Spain grew 86,6% in two years, showing itself as an industry on the rise in the Spanish industry.
Two years after the presentation of the first report, The App Date and Fundación Telefónica, in collaboration with OARSIS, the first Virtual and Augmented Reality startup incubator in Europe, have presented the second edition of the XR Report.
In the 2016 version, only Virtual Reality was talked about, but this new update broadens the field of study and makes an X-ray of the entire XR (Extended Reality) sector, which integrates VR (Virtual Reality) companies, AR (Augmented Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality) of our country.
In this 2018, 67% of the companies in the sector have invoiced less than € 300.000; while 4,5% have invoiced projects worth more than € 3M. Analyzed by turnover volume, 41,4% of companies are dedicated to offering services; 27,3% software licensees and 10,5% ARCADE centers.
The good health of the sector also translates into new job opportunities: in 2018, more than 62% had between 1-5 workers and 14,3% between 5-10 people; further, the forecast for the next 12 months is that 80% of the companies in the sector will hire new professionals, being programmers, developers and modelers and 3D artists the most demanded profiles.
Most of the projects carried out this year are divided between Entertainment (16%), followed by Marketing / Advertising and Education (both with 15%); Tourism (14%); Architecture / Engineering / Industry (12%); Real Estate and Health (both with 7%); Disclosure of Technology and Services (with 5% in both cases); and lastly, Social Awareness (4%).
B2B and B2C Business for Virtual Reality
The new XR Report that was presented today at the Fundación Telefónica de Madrid Space analyzes the more than 260 companies separately Service (B2B) and at 20 that, at this time, are dedicated to Product development (B2C).
Among the first, it is worth highlighting an important leap: if in 2016 47% developed between 5 and 10 projects, this year there are already more than 75% who have up to 20 projects. In addition, almost half have a client portfolio both in Spain and abroad.
For their part, XR companies dedicated to Product development have received significant amounts of public and private financing: 70% have received up to € 100.000 and 6% have received more than € 2M. In this case, they work more with clients in Spain (61,3%) than outside our country (38,7%).
The Report also shows that the greatest strengths of B2C companies are their high technological capacity; the versatility of its products, which are applied to multiple sectors; its rapid capacity for innovation and significant level of investment being carried out by large multinationals such as Google or Facebook.
High costs that prevent undertaking
However, high development costs, the level of risk and commitment on the part of entrepreneurs and the lack of knowledge that still exists among consumers and customers, in a way, hinders further progress.
Looking to the future, the new XR Report also analyzes the commercial potential of these technologies in the next 3 years and the conclusions are clear: Mixed Reality will be the key for companies that are dedicated to providing Service while Virtual Reality will reign among the companies that develop Product.
“After the boom in previous years, it is time to consolidate the sector. Those who thought that this sector was going to break all growth records were wrong and those who now think that the sector is falling and that it is the end of the bubble are also wrong. Extended reality has already shown that it brings real value. " Óscar Hormigos, CEO and Founder of The App Date.
Lenovo has been the special guest at the presentation of the new edition of the XR Report and has had the opportunity to present some of the products that it has developed in collaboration with Microsoft or Disney and that are already a success around the world.
Following the presentation of the XR Report, the update of the VR Guide, which was launched two years ago, has been announced. Now under the name of XR Guide and accessible for free through the Fundación Telefónica website, it will bring together all the companies in the Extended Reality ecosystem in Spain divided by categories.
