Havson Group Puts VR On The SEA Map With Funding From 500 Startups
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 22, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- VR entertainment technology startup Havson Group has closed funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital seed fund and accelerator, 500 Startups. Producing unique VR content and using advanced VR technology that solves problems of motion sickness and latency, Havson Group has recognised the booming virtual reality industry in Southeast Asia and generated early interest from global players.
Pioneering the introduction of VR in the region, Havson Group recently launched EXA Outpost, a first of its kind hyper-reality development studio based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where players leave reality behind and immerse themselves in a first-person experience that puts players in the middle of a dimension exploration.
EXA Outpost 1 located at SetiaWalk Puchong
EXA Outpost: Mission Room
EXA Outpost: Angkas Zone
Backed by a team that has deep-seated knowledge of the industry, Havson Group has been no stranger to the world of gaming. Starting off as Mediasoft, the team has developed some of the top mobile games in the world including the badminton game Jump Smash and the world’s first sepak takraw game Roll Spike that saw more than 10 million downloads.
The founders of Havson Group of companies (Left) Rayson Wong; (Right) Havene Liew
Cementing its track record to date, Havson Group participated and subsequently won the Alibaba CACSC competition held in Singapore in August 2016 emerging as a Champion against 12 other startups from the region. And becomes Merit winner of global final in Hangzhou, China. Havson Group’s unique advantage comes from its VR solution enabling players to move freely in a large space without motion sickness.
Havson Group – Champion of Singapore Division, CACSC 2016
“Through the Alibaba CACSC competition, we managed to prove to the world that we are an emerging global tech company solving real gaming problems.” said Kee Saik Meng, Founding Partner of Havson Group.
Havson Group – Merit Winner of Global Final, CACSC 2016
Havson Group was also the first Malaysian startup showcasing their VR content at the Silicon Valley VR Expo in San Jose.
Even though well known on the international gaming scene, the problems Havson Group sought to address with their tech solutions were more regional. Bringing the VR industry to Southeast Asia, Havson Group saw its many advantages for the market including drawing traffic to dying malls.
“Our VR Parks provides a solution for mall operators wanting to attract footfall, especially from millennials, and provides a gaming experience unlike any other VR multiplayer has done.” said Havene Liew, Founder of Havson Group.
A burning passion for improving and growing the Malaysian games industry drove former film director and game design lecturer Havene to initially kickstart Mediasoft Entertainment in 2012 together with another founder Rayson Wong. During his time as a lecturer, Havene saw numerous young talented individuals leaving the country to seek opportunities overseas or quit the gaming industry altogether due to a lack of opportunities.
Taking matters into their own hands, Havene and Rayson wanted to create those very opportunities, develop those talents and contribute back to the local gaming ecosystem. This passion for talent development saw Mediasoft winning the best employer award in 2015 awarded by KWSP Malaysia.
No stranger to virtual worlds, Kee who has extensive experience in film and games, elaborates on Havson’s insights, “We see this market growing very rapidly in the next few quarters. Besides the growing consumer demand for richer VR experience via malls, we see Hollywood studios and big game companies with IPs entering this space, and, naturally, they are looking for strategic partners to work with.”
This market demand sees Havson Group joining other major competitive players around the world in capturing the global market share. These competitors include The Void, a Hyper-Reality experience gaming centre based in Utah, New York and Dubai. Zero Latency is another immersive VR studio based in Melbourne, Australia which received a total of USD9.5M to date in seed and venture funding from Carthona Capital.
Other players include Dreamscape Immersive which plans to open a VR Multiplex in Los Angeles later this year. Dreamscape has raised USD11M in funding in a round led by Bold Capital. Imax too, has said it plans to open six VR centers in partnership with AMC Theaters and Regal Entertainment, and additional centers planned for Britain and China as well as projects in Japan, the Middle East and Western Europe.
With competition mounting globally in the US, Australia and other parts of Asia, Havson Group’s years of gaming experience and understanding of the Southeast Asian and other regional markets is what they see as their first movers competitive edge.
Others have seen it too with demands for partnerships increasing. Havson Group has already signed partnerships in Pakistan and ShenZhen, China and are currently in discussion with numerous major theme parks and resorts across the region. With interest in VR mounting, Havson Group plans to cement its hold within the region, ahead of the competition.
Managing Partner of 500 Startups, Khailee Ng said that investing in Havson Group was not only in line with their goal to recognize promising startups in Southeast Asia and assist them in growing on a global level, Khailee injects that Havson Group is one of the corporations that has the potential of fast pace growth with the help of technology.
“Having invested in 1,700 Startups in over 60 countries, we’ve built an international platform for startups like Havson to rapidly enter multiple markets at speed. Their business model involves malls paying upfront for rollouts, and generates ongoing profit share. It’s a very capital efficient way to build a global business. Just the kind of business we like!” said Khailee.
With future plans involving Southeast Asia, China and the US, Havson Group of companies is strongly focused on the booming VR market.
“We have the right talented individuals who are brave for new challenges, we can have the right technology along with the skilled software to create a product on par, we have the resources that can push us far, it is undeniable that Havson has the track record that can create another new height,” added Rayson Wong, Founding Partner of Havson Group.
About Havson Group: Havson Group builds VR contents and provides VR tech solutions to FEC, theme parks and shopping malls.
Bringing Expert to Disrupt Marketing Industry in Malaysia.
Webist Solutions Sdn Bhd had their inauguration ceremony launch in conjunction with exclusively inviting Former Amazon Head of Marketing Juan Jose Delgado (JJ Delgado) to have a Master Class on 2nd of August 2017– “Design a Disruptive Marketing Plan like a Pro”. This grand ceremony...
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, June 21, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Exclusively inviting Former Amazon Head of Marketing JJ Delgado for 1-Day Master Class in Malaysia.
Through this class, marketers, corporate leaders,and business owners can fill up their knowledge gap in marketing. You will be able to leverage on the new E-commerce ecosystem and learn how to make the best use of it, apply tools and applications that will save you hours, help you to understand the key sources of traffic to your website and leverage on how to use a big marketplace such as Amazon, eBay or Alibaba.
Who is JJ Delgado? Juan Jose Delgado, who is recognized as one of the World Top 50 Human Behavior Expert in 2017. He has also been selected as the Most Talented Spanish Marketer and awarded Best Speaker in Today is Marketing in 2015, with more than 28 thousands followers in LinkedIn.
JJ Delgado has more than 10 years of experience in this digital marketing area. He is a strong marketing thought leader who helped to put the customer at the center of many companies and organizations over various international marketing platforms, which included Amazon, Burger King, Pepsi, Bosch, and many more.
“My experience in leading the highest day of international sales in Amazon history is far beyond just to understand e-commerce platforms, it is more towards about how to build a digital business and make an impact in the market.”
During the event launched, JJ Delgado was live on screen introducing his upcoming Master Class and had a live Q&A session with the guests.
Webist Solutions proudly featured an upcoming 1 Day Master Class “Design a Disruptive Marketing Plan Like a Pro” by the Former Amazon Head of Marketing, JJ Delgado. This event will be happening on the 2nd of August 2017 at Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
There are various senior executives in marketing who will be attending to this event, including Maxis, Tealive, Microsoft, and many more.
Individuals who are keen to learn the latest marketing trend from the professional speaker Juan Jose Delgado are welcome to check out the tickets through http://www.webist.com.my/jjdelgado/ or call 03-79729122 for more details. Early birds are entitled to purchase tickets at a special rate and saved up to RM1500! Gold tickets at RM1247 and VIP tickets at RM2497. Register NOW to book your seat!
Contact Information:
Name: Chris Teng
Organization: Webist Solutions Sdn Bhd
Website: webist.com.my
Phone Number: 0165574650
Email: chris@webist.com.my
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Suit Up, Experience The Game Changer Of Hyper-Reality Entertainment
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia, June 02, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Gear up, ladies and gentlemen! EXA GLOBAL – under the umbrella of digital entertainment and technology company Havson Group – is urgently recruiting soldiers for an immediate search and rescue mission of their fellow comrades missing in action while on an exploration to a foreign dimension, and they were hailing all new recruits to gather at the latest hyper-reality Family Entertainment Center (FEC) at SetiaWalk’s EXA Outpost, to be “transported” and save their comrades from danger at their recent launch.
The latest disruptive FEC to invade the gaming scene in Malaysia, EXA Outpost at SetiaWalk is a first-person, hyper-reality immersive experience that puts players right smack dab in the middle of a dimension exploration. EXA Outpost brags the rights to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, being a quality full-service Hyper-Reality–FECs (Family Entertainment Centers) that will command the approval of the predominantly Malaysian community which it serve.
Mr. Richard Lee, CEO of EXA Global said that engagement is the core to every project being designed by the team – to get their players involved in the technology, to be a part of the story, and experience the game together as a team.
“EXA Outpost is a project of exploration; we invite friends and family to explore, to engage, to defend and return home with an experience where they can share with one another. The moment they book their tickets, we want them to experience the story together as a team,” said Mr. Lee during the launch of EXA Outpost recently.
“Getting the right module, enhancing the formula, experience and content are key components when creating and building an immersive advanced technology to have people sharing their hyper-reality experience with others. Being that part of the story for our players is important to us, as we know experience is something very valuable we at EXA Global can offer.”
A mixture of both physical and hyper-reality attractions that holds a fully immersive, wireless free roaming concept, the gaming content of EXA Outpost are created and developed solely by EXA Global themselves. A Sci-fi shooting game involving multi-players of four in a closed room, troopers will firstly be placed in EXA Outpost’s Ingress room for a briefing on their mission and safety conditions, where they will be suited up with the EXA Gear – player-wearable technology consisting of backpacks, guns, headset, batteries and charging system.
Players will then experience the real highlight of the dimension exploration along with the outer space atmosphere through their ANGKAS system, providing troopers with a more surreal and breathtaking experience. Players will immerse themselves in a surreal movie-like graphic story of being trained as new recruits equivalent to Starship Troopers in a graphically-enhanced Mission Room, receiving orders from a certain Commander Rick and dispatched to explore a foreign dimensional space that will leave players in awe and admire the ‘reality’ of an unexplored realm. Players are instructed to navigate the deep caves of the dimension and investigate the area, encouraging them to explore, engage and experience the whole story and the surreal atmosphere they are transported into, and work together as a team to conquer their mission when encountering large and vicious alien-like monsters.
Mr. Lee emphasized that its innovative facilities will have a positive impact within the Family Entertainment Centers both in Malaysia and on a global scale – having fully analysed and researched the market to effusively enhance the augmented reality solution for both gamers and non-gamers. He went on to add that there are more enhancements and developments to be made to allow their players visiting EXA Outpost have the full immersive experience in letting them feel what EXA Global wants them to feel.
“As part of the creative and innovative pioneer in digital entertainment and technology Havson Group, between ourselves we created the ultimate immersive Hyper-Reality Studio experience within this region.
“With great minds combined, we successfully developed a unique and distinctive system of high quality Hyper-Reality Entertainment Centers and create an exceptional yet incredible experience bringing hyper-reality to a new height,” said Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee added that Team Building and Communication have always been the pillars embedded in EXA Global’s hyper-reality projects, as they truly believe that hyper-reality can bring people together and providing them that opportunity to let themselves go and immerse in communication to achieve a goal together.
“At EXA Outpost, the “wow” factor is something we want to evoke in people, as the stories we tell and the experience we give, is what each and every person will be bringing home and return for more, as such experience is always crucial in every project we do,” said Mr. Lee.
EXA Outpost also consists of two rooms: dedicated to the games and a Hyper-Reality Arcade Entertainment Centre where patrons can play VR arcade games.
For more information on how to book a session with EXA Outpost at SetiaWalk or the mission of Dimension 12, please visit www.exa-global.com, or follow us on www.facebook.com/EXAGlobal/.
Official Partners:
For further information kindly contact:
Eunice Wong, Senior Brand Manager
Mobile: +6012 2877 368 / 03 7865 7932
Email: eunice@slpr.com.my
Wantha Anatasya, Brand Executive
Mobile: +6018 2968 119 / 03 7865 7932
Email: wantha@slpr.com.my