New York City is diving into VR in a big way with the launch of a virtual/alternate reality hub at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. It’ll serve to nurture companies and projects relying on the new technologies, with the hopes of cementing NYC as a place where AR/VR can thrive. The hub will be backed by $6 million in funding from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, as well as NYC’s Economic Development Corporation. The city also claims that the NYU lab will also be the first publicly funded VR/AR hub in the country.
While several institutions were in the running to host the hub, NYU won out because it’s already home to plenty of VR projects. CUNY’s Lehman College in the Bronx will also host a workforce development center to support the lab. City representatives had some lofty visions for where the VR and AR market is headed — several brought up Citi Global’s estimatethat it could be worth $2 trillion within 10 years. The Mayor’s Office also expects the hub to generate 500 jobs within the next decade.
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