Seoul-based tech giant Samsung is already developing its own virtual reality device called the Gear VR but this hasn't stopped it from investing in the eye-tracking FOVE VR headset. The news arrives as the startup is fresh from smashing its $250,000 Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.
Samsung Ventures, the investment arm of the South Korean tech firm, has reportedly invested an undisclosed amount into the Tokyo-based startup.
"Our investment in FOVE is evidence of our belief in FOVE's superior technology and we believe FOVE will launch a competitive VR device in the market soon," a spokesman for Samsung Ventures said as reported by Wareable.
"There's no word of an official collaboration between the two companies, but it's not hard to see why a tech giant would pour money into this startup," Engadget said. Reportedly, the investment would create healthy competition and provide Samsung with "a technically advanced alternative to the established options."
FOVE VR sets itself apart from the competition with its eye-tracking technology.
"Whereas current VR headsets rely on the direction the user is facing to figure out what they're paying attention to, FOVE allows gamers to glance around different parts of the scene to do that instead," Slash Gear said.
This allows the virtual reality headset to "focus the graphical processing resource of whatever device is powering the headset at that portion of the display."
With Samsung's investment, things are about to get even more interesting as FOVE will now be able to add Valve's Lighthouse positional tracking technology. Originally, FOVE's Kickstarter campaign set a stretch goal of $700,000 to add it. The VR headset will also add support for the open source virtual reality standard.
"It means FOVE will not only track your head and eyes accurately but, like the HTC Vive, will also track your hand and body's position in the room using base stations," Wareable said.
"With this new investment and from our Kickstarter community, we will work diligently in making FOVE development possible on a large scale," FOVE CEO and co-founder Yuka Kojima said.
FOVE VR specs include a 5.8-inch 1440p display with more than 100-degree field of view; 90fps frame rate; and eye-tracking at 120fps. It is expected to arrive in spring 2016.
