UploadVR

UVR Media, LLC operates UploadVR, a trade publication website focused on the virtual and augmented reality industry. Founded in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, and Nick St. Pierre, the company initially began as a coworking and incubation space in San Francisco for VR startups called the Upload Collective. The venture evolved to include events and an online media publication, uploadvr.com, to provide news and information about the growing immersive technology sector.

The founding team brought together distinct expertise. Taylor Freeman, who served as CEO, previously founded a creative advertising firm, Magnus Labs, and worked as a production manager at Universal Studios. Will Mason, who holds a degree in communication and media studies, managed social media for multiple companies before co-founding UploadVR and acting as its president. This combination of media production, advertising, and communications experience shaped the company's multi-faceted approach to building a community and information hub for the VR/AR ecosystem. The company secured early-stage funding, including a $1.25 million seed round in December 2015. It later raised a total of $10.4 million over four rounds, with investors including General Catalyst and Shanda.

Today, UploadVR functions primarily as a digital media outlet. Its business model centers on programmatic advertising and a direct reader support membership program, which removes ads for subscribers. The platform provides news, in-depth reviews of games and hardware, and industry analysis for a readership of consumers, developers, and researchers. The editorial team operates independently, adhering to a code of ethics that emphasizes unbiased reporting and clear disclosure of any conflicts of interest. The publication also produces live-streamed showcases of new VR games and content, further solidifying its position as a key information source within the industry.

Keywords: virtual reality news, augmented reality, VR journalism, AR industry, immersive technology, VR hardware reviews, VR game reviews, media publication, Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, VR startups, Upload Collective, VR events, digital media, tech journalism, XR industry, metaverse, VR consumer advocacy, immersive computing, virtual reality analysis