Greenlight Insights forecasts global VR-related revenues to reach $7 billion by the end of 2017. As spending on headsets and gaming content drives near-term industry growth, new sectors will emerge as new catalysts for future growth.

One promising sector is the location-based entertainment (LBE) industry. Several companies offering virtual reality technology for the LBE industry have received significant investments from venture capital investors. For instance, Zero Latency and Spaces attracted investments totaling $10 million last year. In addition to venture funding trends, LBE venues will continue to be a growth sector for VR industry as more diverse content is developed specifically for this channel. Furthermore, LBE offers an attractive opportunity for developers seeking alternative financing. The content licensing fees offered by many LBE chains result in significant recurring revenues.

Alexis Macklin, an Analyst with Greenlight Insights covering emerging technology trends at the intersection of VR, AR, and the entertainment industry, will be joined by Rob Vickery (Co-Founder, Stage Venture Partners), Ryan Wang (General Partner, Outpost Capital), Sonata Taman (CEO, Luminaire Advisors), Francis Yip (Vice President, VaranIDEA LLC), Allison Huynh (CEO, MyDream Interactive) and Mai-Wah Cheung (CTO of Digital Business, Next Digital Limited) for a panel moderated by Mariana Danilovic (Managing Director, Hollywood Portfolio) at Digital Hollywood on Thursday, May 25th.

The panel will discuss several topics, including:

• Top funded VR, AR and AI categories in 2016
• Areas of current vs. future investment
• Alternative financing options for VR content