Tools firm focused on VR storytelling raises $6m

A tech startup which aims to improve the quality of narrative storytelling in virtual reality has gathered another $6 million in its latest round of funding.

Visionary VR’s story creation tool is said to put a focus on opening up building for the nascent medium to developers of all sizes and experience.

"Today, only expert-level developers can create VR stories," explained CEO Gil Baron. "We’re going to change that."

The US firm’s Series A financing was led by DFJ, which has previously backed Skype and Tesla, in its first move into VR investment.

Visionary said that the money will go towards hiring additional designers and engineers, in a move towards producing a commercial release of the VR story creation software.

Following the funding, DFJ partner Bubba Murarka joins Visionary’s directors board. Murarka previously held positions at Facebook, working on product development for Android, and Microsoft, leading a dev team for search engine Bing.

"Given Visionary VR’s insights into how storytelling is going to be redefined by virtual reality in the future, this company is aligned with DFJ’s long history of investing in disruptive technologies," said Murarka.

"Even after seeing hundreds of VR demos and creating our own VR app at DFJ, experiencing Visionary VR’s product left our team slack-jawed. It is that impressive."