Owlized
Owlized produces location-based virtual reality tools that help people connect deeply with the most visited destinations on Earth.
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| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
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| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Owlized, Inc. developed and operated a location-based virtual reality platform designed to offer immersive historical and future-forward experiences at tourist destinations. Founded in 2013 by Aaron Selverston and headquartered in San Francisco, the company aimed to transform how visitors connect with physical locations. Selverston, serving as CEO, leveraged a passion for VR as a storytelling medium to pioneer the company's direction. The firm's core product was the 'OWL VR', a rugged, weatherproof outdoor kiosk resembling traditional coin-operated binoculars. Users could pay a small fee via credit card or phone to view a 360-degree VR movie showcasing the history or potential future of their exact standing point.
The business model centered on a revenue-sharing agreement between Owlized, the host site—such as parks, tourist attractions, or historic sites—and the VR content studios that produced the experiences. This model provided a new income stream for host venues without upfront costs and a monetization path for VR content creators. Owlized's clients included various municipal bodies like the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Palo Alto, as well as FEMA, primarily using the technology for civic engagement to visualize proposed urban development and climate adaptation projects. The company gained recognition by participating in UC Berkeley's SkyDeck accelerator in 2017 and received several awards, including a TiE50 Top Startup honor. Before ceasing operations around December 2018, Owlized had raised approximately $980,000 in funding and deployed several prototype units that garnered over 50,000 users.
Keywords: location-based VR, virtual reality tourism, historical VR, VR kiosk, civic technology, urban planning VR, OWL VR, public virtual reality, immersive storytelling, place-based experiences, cultural heritage technology, time travel VR, destination VR, outdoor virtual reality, Aaron Selverston, SkyDeck accelerator, transactional VR, augmented reality tourism, visitor engagement technology, historical visualization