Within Unlimited, Inc, or commonly Within, is a technology company based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

that creates, acquires, and distributes

360-degree video 360-degree videos, also known as surround video, or immersive videos or spherical videos, are video recordings where a view in every direction is recorded at the same time, shot using an omnidirectional camera or a collection of cameras. During pl ...

, AR, and VR experiences and products across web, mobile, console, and headsets.

History

Originally named Vrse, Within was founded in 2014 by

Chris Milk Chris Milk is an American entrepreneur, innovator, director, photographer, and immersive artist. He is co-founder and CEO of Within (Virtual Reality) (formerly Vrse), a virtual reality technology company, and co-founder of Here Be Dragons (forme ...

, and

Aaron Koblin Aaron Koblin (born January 14, 1982) is an American digital media artist and entrepreneur best known for his innovative use of data visualization and his pioneering work in crowdsourcing, virtual reality, and interactive film. He is co-founder an ...

, creator of

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

’s Data Arts team. The company has produced and distributed some of augmented and virtual reality's most seminal's works, including ''Clouds Over Sidra'', in partnership with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(2015), ''Lambchild Superstar'' (2017), co-directed by Milk and OK Go's Damien Kulash, and the children's augmented reality reading app, Wonderscope (2018). In April 2020, after 2 years in development, Within release
Supernatural
an in-home fitness, health, and wellness service for virtual reality, which combines real-life trainers with rhythm mapped exercises set in beautiful locations. In 2020, Within was named one of FastCompany's Most Innovative Companies and Supernatural was named "Best App" in Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards. In 2017, Within announced it had raised a $40 million Series B round of funding led by Temasek and Emerson Collective. In 2016, the company announced it had raised a $12.56 million funding round, lead Andreessen Horowitz, which also led their seed round. In October 2021,

Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) trade name, doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebo ...

agreed to buy Within for an undisclosed sum. In July 2022, the

U.S. Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ove ...

sued Meta to block the acquisition arguing that "Meta could have chosen to try to compete. Instead, it chose to buy."

Investors

On June 16, 2016, Within rebranded from Vrse and raised a $12.65 million

series A round A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

led by

Andreessen Horowitz Andreessen Horowitz (also called a16z, legal name AH Capital Management, LLC) is a private American venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Andreessen ...

, with participation from

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, f ...

, WME, Tribeca Enterprises,

Annapurna Pictures Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

and Freelands Ventures. Current investors include Andreessen Horowitz,

Temasek Temasek (also spelt Temasik) is an early recorded name of a settlement on the site of modern Singapore. The name appears in early Malay and Javanese literature, and it is also recorded in Yuan and Ming Chinese documents as ''Danmaxi'' ( or ). ...

Emerson Collective Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, this limited liability company (LLC) uses philanthropy, impact investing, ...

, Raine Ventures, WME,

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...

Vice Media Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); V ...

Tribeca Enterprises Tribeca Productions is an American film and television production company co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca. History The production company was founded in 1989 ...

, Annapurna Pictures, and

Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

Installations & Events

In 2016, Within (known as VRSE at the time) showed roughly 1,200 attendees a synced 360-degree video collage at a TED Talk.

Awards

Within was named the #1 VR app for iOS by Apple Insider, featured as "Best New App" on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and is the most downloaded and highest rated cinematic VR app for

Google Cardboard Google Cardboard is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform developed by Google. Named for its fold-out cardboard viewer into which a smartphone is inserted, the platform was intended as a low-cost system to encourage interest and developme ...

. Within VR films were selected for the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

and chosen for the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, respectively, in both 2015 and 2016. Within film, "The Displaced", won the Most Next Award at the 2016 AICP Awards and the 2016

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

Lions Grand Prix in the Entertainment category. Within Founder

’s SNL40 VR special won the Best Online Film & Video Award at the 2016

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...

s. Milk’s " Clouds Over Sidra" won the Interactive Category at the 2015 Sheffield Doc/Fest Awards. In 2020 Within was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. Within's Supernatural won "Best App" in Fast Company's 2020 Innovation by Design Awards.

References

{{Reflist Virtual reality companies Companies based in Los Angeles 2014 establishments in California Announced information technology acquisitions