Jaunt

Jaunt XR emerged in 2013, founded by Arthur van Hoff, Tom Annau, and Jens Christensen, initially carving out a niche in the cinematic virtual reality (VR) space. The founding team brought a wealth of experience; van Hoff was an early contributor to the Java programming language at Sun Microsystems and had founded and sold several tech companies, including Marimba and Strangeberry. Annau possessed a deep background in software engineering, with roles at Google and as VP of Engineering at Blekko, and holds a PhD in Computational Neuroscience from Caltech. Christensen also played a key role in the company's formation and leadership.

The company's initial mission was to provide an end-to-end solution for creating and distributing high-quality, immersive VR experiences. To this end, Jaunt developed its own professional-grade 360-degree camera, the Jaunt One, and a software platform for stitching and distributing content. This approach attracted over $100 million in funding from major media and tech players like The Walt Disney Company, Google Ventures, Sky, and Evolution Media Partners.

In a significant strategic shift in October 2018, Jaunt pivoted from its consumer-facing VR content model to a business-to-business (B2B) focus on augmented reality (AR) technologies. The new direction centered on the Jaunt XR Platform, a solution for the scalable creation and distribution of volumetric video of humans using machine learning and an array of depth-sensing cameras. This platform enabled business clients to create realistic 3D avatars for immersive experiences, deliverable to AR and VR devices. To bolster this new focus, Jaunt acquired the volumetric video streaming technology and engineering talent from Personify.

The company's journey as an independent entity concluded in September 2019 when Verizon acquired Jaunt's software, technology, and other assets for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was intended to integrate Jaunt's AR technology, particularly its expertise in volumetric capture, into Verizon's 5G strategy and media division. Following the acquisition, co-founder Arthur van Hoff joined Apple as a senior architect in 2019. The portfolio of patents, developed by both Jaunt and later Verizon, covering foundational XR technologies, was later offered for sale in 2024.

Keywords: volumetric video, augmented reality, virtual reality, immersive content, 360-degree video, cinematic VR, machine learning, 3D capture, spatial computing, content distribution platform, AR platform, VR platform, immersive experiences, Jaunt XR, Arthur van Hoff, Verizon, Disney, extended reality, 3D avatars, stereoscopic video, real-time processing