Vivaty (NéeMedia Machines) Launches Private Beta for Web-Embeddable Worlds

Vivaty, formerly known as Media Machines, left stealth mode this weekend to announce a private beta today with an eye toward a public beta in the coming months. The company, which received $9.4 million from Mohr Davidow Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in September, got a very positive write up in the New York Times today in a feature focusing on online chat. A company spokesperson, though, wrote to explain to me that "their vision is much broader than an instant messaging or chat client...it's the same level of depth found in something like Second Life, but inside the browser."

The goal is to create a Web-based environment where uses (individuals, brands, or corporations) can create customizable Vivaty Scenes and embed them anywhere HTML is accepted, for example, I'm guessing, through an app on Facebook.

We noted earlier today that browser-based customizable worlds are getting competitive--this marks the third such announcement today--though Vivaty is hoping that there's an equal demand for both the ease of the browser and the depth of 3D worlds.

Ultimately, the 3D environments should allow up to 16 users to occupy one room, communicate over text, share photos, and stream video from sites like YouTube. Vivaty plans to make money, in part , by charging companies to set up controlled, branded spaces on company websites.

I'll be catching up with Keith McCurdy, who is the Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Vivaty as well as being a former VP from EA, later this week. Stay tuned for more info.

Comments

[Flyer]

I downloaded the free player and it opened a media machine file but the file asked for the flux player. Also, other than the free player, is there any content?

[Jim Delnyk]

Wow, who are the marketing geniuses who came up with that name? Vivaty...it sounds like a male enhancement prescription or worse yet, an STD. Yikes!

[len]

Ah but these guys get it. Virtual worlds are pancaking precisely because they are too broad. Walled gardens exist because people want exclusivity and privacy in their private life. They want the power of the choice of choices.

What Vivaty recognizes correctly is the concept of consumer services, that in fact, the virtual world is simply one more way to collect the various communication representations as services for private consumers.

The deal gets better for the artists selling into the market because Vivaty may enable the consumer to have the walled garden if they prefer, but they get it via standard 3D technology. An artist or company can sell objects into the market at all scales of application using the same tools and with high reliability. This is a much better market for the artists than the Second Life server-farm approach where the platform is a lobster trap forcing the artist once in to stay in or lose the investment. The same is true for their customers.

This is a much better approach. The VCs who bought this are a notch above in market smarts than what we've been seeing for the past three years.

Home page has a meaning again.