(Sponsored) As the metaverse rapidly expands, we sat down with the CEO and founder of 8XR, a UK-based startup branded as the most powerful graphic web engine on the market. Mark Korshakov tells us about the company, how it started and why the metaverse is about to change your personal and professional life in a very profound way.
1. What’s the story of 8XR? How was it founded?
I have always been a huge fan of VR. Ages ago, I bought and tried the most popular VR headsets like Oculus, Sony etc. Although I absolutely loved the idea of virtual experiences and gaming, it happened that this great technology has only one disadvantage (but the strongest one) – lack of content. The number of games and experiences was so small that this would never justify a solid investment into VR headsets. This lack of content had some reasons behind it – time-consuming and complicated production and high production experience, unclear revenue opportunities. Looked like a closed circle: no content = nobody buys devices, nobody buys devices = no content. That’s why 1.5 years ago, in May 2021, we set out to solve this problem, to bring the creation of virtual experiences to the next level, where literally everyone can be a creator and get their own virtual experiences not in months, but in minutes. Slava Sabinin supported us with this idea and joined the 8XR as a CTO. We started to work on the creation of the tool, which would be native and easily accessible to everyone who wants to create virtual experiences. Later on, we decided to go beyond virtual reality (because it requires VR headsets and would be accessible for a limited amount of people) and continue developing a product that enables anyone to create 3d spaces and experiences, accessible from any device (browser, VR/AR headset).
2. Why was 8XR founded and with what purpose/mission?
Starting with the ambition to simplify the creation of content for VR, 8XR transformed its vision into becoming the next WordPress or Figma for the creators of 3D content or Metaverses. And now the mission of 8XR is to provide everyone with tools for the effortless and cost-effective creation of 3d content and experiences on the immersive web. The tools which will change the way companies, creators, and users are building the Metaverse altogether.
3. What type of client do you service and what industries are you disrupting?
We are disrupting the industry of 3D content and metaverse creation. We define several product directions and as a result several types of clients:
– 3D content creators, geeks, Metaverse creators, design and production studios;
– fine artists and fashion brands;
– SMBs, who can build fast and cost-effective Metaverse experiences for their business. It can be anything from Metaverse offices to meta-commerce, to a showroom, to a conference, to a VIP client club. Imagination is the limit – enterprises that can build the whole Branded World in the Metaverse.
4. Please tell us your three favorite things about the company and its technical abilities.
I think that the greatest thing we created is the Builder Tool – https://www.8xr.io/buildertool
This tool democratizes the creation of 3D content.
Most important things about it:
- Time-saving! anyone can build and launch a 3D experience in minutes
- Collaborative work on the #D content creation, multiple users can work in the same space simultaneously
- Accessibility – the tool is available via browser, you don’t need to install anything
- Cross-device access – anyone can access the 3D experience from most devices: desktop/laptop, mobile phone, VR headset
- The 3D experience can be shared with anyone with the link
- Web3 enabled
And some cool features for geeks and advanced creators:
- 3d objects import
- Physics engine out-of-the-box
- Mesh & Geometry optimization
- Dynamic lights
- Trigger zones
- Spatial audio
- Video streaming
- Instancing
These features will help to create really outstanding experiences.
Here are some examples:
- https://app.8xr.io/s/IvanDurnev/view
- https://app.8xr.io/s/4okl7xfl3pn/view
- https://app.8xr.io/s/loft/view
- https://app.8xr.io/s/hakenaward/view
5. Where is 8XR headed next? Where do you see the company in 2-3 years?
We have already raised a pre-seed investment and are now in the process of raising a seed round and have interest from many well-known VCs. We expect to close the round by the end of the year and this investment will allow us to grow within existing markets (UK and EU) and to scale to other markets (the US and Asia). In 2-3 years we are planning to become a leading provider of 3D and Metaverse experiences for individuals and businesses. We plan to become a “WordPress” for the creation of web3.
About Mark Korshakov
Mark Korshakov is an experienced IT professional and the Co-Founder of 8XR. He has extensive experience in the development of tech products, IT management and business development.
Before starting 8XR, Mark held a top management position, VP of Engineering, at the award-winning FinTech company Clausematch. He managed to build and scale a complex RegTech product, having among their clients – Barclays, Blackrock, Intesa, BNY Mellon, RBC, Scotiabank, Revolut, etc.
