Welcoming Colopl Next as an investor and sponsor for Play Labs

We're excited to welcome Colopl Next,  the corporate venture capital arm of Colopl, Inc., as an investor and sponsor in the Summer, 2018 batch of the Play Labs accelerator, being held at the MIT Game Lab on campus in Cambridge, MA.  

Rizwan Virk, Executive Director of Play Labs, said: "We are fortunate to have the support of such an innovative company as Colopl with their history of successful games, to throw their support behind Play Labs.   We believe that the ecosystem of around MIT has many entrepreneurs who can benefit from their association its venture arm, Colopl Next, and that this partnership can link Colopl Next with many creative entrepreneurs who are part of the Play Labs."

Shintaro Yamakami, CEO of Colopl Next, said: ""We are honored to work with Play Labs and the MIT Game Lab to explore next-generation entertainment and its underlying technology. Also, we are looking forward to collaborating with Play Labs partners including Seraph, VIVE, Theta Labs, and others."

The summer, 2018 batch of Play Labs includes a number of innovative startups that are using
"Playful Technology" in new ways, ranging from VR/AR to esports and blockchain applications.  

ABOUT COLOPL NEXT

Colopl Next  (https://www.coloplnext.co.jp/) is the corporate venture capital arm of Colopl Inc, a Japanese game developer. Operating several funds that account for a total of $100M+, each fund has a particular focus, such as young entrepreneurs, VR/AR, and emerging technologies. We make investments globally; in fact, more than half of our portfolio companies are based outside of Japan. With “Entertainment in Real Life” as our group’s mission, Colopl Next supports startups while utilizing Colopl’s knowledge and experiences of developing user-first products.

ABOUT PLAY LABS
Play Labs (www.playlabs.tv) is an incubator/accelerator which invests and mentors startups that are utilizing playful technology in a variety of industries. The span of playful technology includes Blockchain, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and esports.  During the program, each cohort is mentored by a group of MIT staff as well from successful entrepreneurs, which include many MIT Alumni. Play Labs is hosted on the MIT Campus by the MIT Game Lab during the summer and the next batch will be summer, 2018.

Call For Startups - Play Labs - Summer, 2018 Batch

Unlike some incubators, Play Labs has specific areas of focus in each batch.  As such, there are  a number of startup concepts that we’d like to encourage people to apply with. 

If you already have a concept that you want to apply to the summer batch for, we encourage you to go ahead with the idea you’re passionate about.

If you’d like to work on a startup at MIT over the summer, but haven’t yet figured out what you want to do – here are some suggestions of areas we are interested in.  If you want to be part of a team but don’t have one – contact us at info@playlabs.tv and we’ll see If we can pair you with team members.

The focus of the summer, 2018 batch includes blockchain/digital currency, esports, and of course we are still open to all areas of playful tech, including VR/AR and AI, which were focal areas for us last year. 

Check this list as we may add to it from time to time!

• Blockchain for gaming.  One area that we are very interested in is the intersection of blockchain for gaming.  This could mean something like crypto kitties, or could blockchain based management of virtual assets in games, virtual currency, or anything you can think of.
• De-centralized entertainment apps.  We are looking for teams that will use de-centralized protocols for video streaming and entertainment.
• esports and video game streaming: esports is an area with lots of innovation going on – from the viewing experience to the advertising method to management of tournaments.  This could include Twitch extensions, your own custom viewing experience, or tools for managing esports tournaments. 
• Analytics for blockchain and virtual currency/goods – this remains an interesting area, particularly if you are able to use AI
• AI/Machine Learning – we are open to many different applications of AI, particularly but not limited to, gaming and vision related applications
• De-centralized exchanges for digital currency.  There is a lot of interest in cross-blockchain de-centralized exchanges which are now becoming available.
• Facebook instant games – an area of gaming that is just emerging and has wind in its back.  Just like mobile gaming
• Alexa and voice-enabled applications – we’re particularly interested in new voice enabled applications
• AR tools and applications – AR is a broad new area, with new headsets, with mobile AR, and the sky is the limit in creating applications on top of this technology, or creating tools to help build AR applications
• VR applications – VR remains an area of interest, particularly for corporate applications.
• Games- We are always open to different types of games, but we prefer games which are heavily tied to a new platform – like blockchain, Facebook instant gaming, Alexa and voice-enabled applications, or other emerging platforms.

Of course the areas we’ll accept are not limited to these – this is a list of “wishful thinking” for startup we’d like to see in this batch.  Feel free to email us info@playlabs.tv if you want to put together a team in one of these areas and are not sure how to get started.

RSVP for our Demo Day, August 15, at MIT and online!

We have 13 playful tech startups that we have been mentoring on the MIT campus, with a variety of VR/AR/esports/gaming/enterprise applications. They will be presenting on stage and there will be an opportunity to try out their demos after the presentations.

Demo Day is August 15, 2017 from 6-9pm

RSVP for in person demo day: (MIT, classroom 10-250)

RSVP for online demo day:  (if you can't make it in person)

The first batch consists of playful startups spans a wide breadth of categories, including:

• VR pets & games (3 startups)
• VR business applications (2 startups)
• AR/MR  Applications/Tools (2 startups)
• VR/VRWeb/360 development tech (3 startups)
• eSports (2 startups)
• Machine Vision and Deep Learning (2 startups)
• Online Games (2 startups)

Play Labs, a Summer Accelerator at MIT, Announces First Class of VR/AR/Playful Startups and Demo Day

First class on the MIT campus to showcase 13 startups across a mix of gaming, enterprise VR, esports, AR technologies

Cambridge, MA -- June 21, 2017 -- Play Labs @ MIT, a summer accelerator hosted at the MIT Game Lab, has announced its first batch of startups that have been admitted to the program.  The first batch runs from June-August, and the Demo Day will be on August 15, 2017 at 6:00 pm EDT at MIT in classroom 10-250. The Demo Day will be open to investors, members of the MIT community, and the general public. In addition to the physical event, Play Labs Demo Day will be streamed live on the web for those not in the Boston area.  

Sign up to watch Demo Day in person at MIT or online at www.playlabs.tv.

The overall focus of the accelerator is on startups that employ “playful tech” in a variety of industries.  The first batch of startups was selected with a concentration on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), as well as online gaming and esports.

The first batch consists of  startups spanning a wide breadth of categories, including:

• VR pets & games (2 startups)

• VR business applications (2 startups)

• AR/MR  Applications/Tools (2 startups)

• VR/VRWeb/360 development tech (3 startups)

• eSports (2 startups)

• Machine Vision and Deep Learning (2 startups)

• Online Games (2 startups)

“We are excited at the quality and breadth of startups that we have in our first batch,” said Rizwan Virk, Executive Director of Play Labs @ MIT. “Being on campus at MIT gave us access to many innovative entrepreneurs and technologies, and while we had many applicants, the startups we selected in this first class represent the best applications of playful technology. I’m personally inspired to help the next group of MIT startups go on to great success.”

“The inaugural class began with teams of creative, passionate and determined people. This is history in the making,” said Tuff Yen, President of Seraph Group and Partner at Play Labs @ MIT.

The following is a list of the startups in the first batch (in alphabetical order):

• Coresights:Coresights measures and reduces stress to improve wellness. The platform combines virtual reality with wearable devices to make training engaging and track progress through real-time data.  (www.coresights.com)

• Datavized:   Datavized brings another dimension to enterprise and big data for enhanced productivity and effectiveness. Combining the immersive power of virtual reality with the seamless delivery of the mobile web, the software enables cross platform collaboration with interactive visualization for any device, from 2D to 3D and VR. ( http://datavized.com )

• Empathy Box:  Empathy Box creates story-driven interactive experiences that move you, challenge you, and transform the way you see the world. We combine over 10 years of interactive storytelling expertise with proprietary story-creation technology to achieve the unforgettable.  ( https://themythmachinegame.wordpress.com/)

• Escape Labs: EscapeLabs uses Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality (AR/MR) to create holographic experiences for escape-rooms, team-building exercises and room scale puzzle games. Our goal is to transform ordinary physical spaces into high quality 4D experiences using holographic content.

• Esports One: Esports One is a revolutionary esports company, comprised of esportspedia, one of the largest esports information resources in the world, and providing an advanced computer vision and real time data analysis platform for esports.

• Hidden Switch: Hidden Switch created an AI-powered content generator for competitive video games. Based on research from the MIT Media Lab, this technology exponentially increases the amount of content in a game and personalizes it to each player. Our demo game, Spellsource, is the first of many applications towards our mission: to make an unlimited video game.

• Minda Labs: Minda is using virtual reality and AI to build the next generation of corporate learning tools to address sexism and bias. Our training simulations allow employees to practice principles like empathy, active listening, and empowerment, with feedback from an AI that's trained by professionals. It's empathy coaching, at scale. (www.minda.co)

• RidgeLine Labs: Ridgeline Labs is creating an AI architecture to bring VR and AR characters to life. We create emotionally significant VR/AR experiences by creating artificially intelligent virtual characters. We are currently using our proprietary AI technology to build RoVR, an adorable VR dog simulator where players can raise, explore, and build an emotionally significant bond with their own VR dog. Using our modular AI, we are creating immersive experiences with virtual companions whose friendships will be truly cherished. ( www.ridgelinelabs.com)

• SavvyStat: Deep learning and predictive tools and dashboards for managing virtual economies and virtual goods

• Team Future: Typically, playing in VR means isolation. Team Future brings asymmetric gameplay beyond the headset to engage people around the VR user . We shipped Black Hat Cooperative last year on PC, are launching a new title on Playstation VR this fall, and will be building additional properties with our cooperative hacker-heist mechanics. (www.teamfuturegames.com)

• Total Respawn: Total Respawn uses augmented reality to create real-life first person shooter games for action sports arenas.  Our product lineup will feature experiences ranging from gunning your way out of the zombie apocalypse to a real life version of Call of Duty on Steroids. (www.totalrespawnar.com)

• VRemedy: VRemedy Labs is creating a VR experience designed to give you the opportunity to live your childhood superhero movement fantasies without nausea! Their proprietary adjustable comfort level system developed at MIT helps mitigate nausea through carefully designed locomotion systems and customized training sequences. (www.vremedylabs.com)

• Wonda VR: Wonda VR develops intuitive tools to turn 360° videos into engaging VR experiences. It provides a simple drag & drop interface and a one-click publishing solution that puts the power of experiential storytelling in the hands of every video creator. (http://www.wondavr.com/)

To learn more about these startups, to attend Demo Day or view it online, visit www.playlabs.tv or contact the Play Labs contacts below.

About PlayLabs

Play Labs (www.playlabs.tv) is an incubator/accelerator at MIT which invests and mentors startups that are utilizing playful technology in a variety of industries.   The focus of the first batch will be Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies and applications, though the incubator will also consider startups using other playful tech, including 3d modeling, rendering, streaming, gamification, artificial intelligence. The applications of playful technology can be in any industry, including online/mobile/VR gaming, esports, entertainment, education, healthcare, finance, etc.

Play Labs is run by by Bayview Labs (www.bayviewlabs.com), and its executive director, Rizwan Virk, an MIT alumnus (MIT ‘92 BS Computer Science & Engineering), and a prolific Silicon Valley angel investor, advisor and mentor, in conjunction with the Seraph Group ( www.seraphgroup.net), a seed stage venture capital investment firm founded by Tuff Yen.

About Ludus, The MIT Center for Games, Learning, and Playful Media

Ludus, the MIT Center for Games, Learning, and Playful Media, coordinates the efforts of MIT labs and research groups exploring games and play with a community of member practitioners. Research groups include the MIT Game Lab (gamelab.mit.edu); The Education Arcade (education.mit.edu); the Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory (icelab.mit.edu); the Trope Tank (tropetank.mit.edu); the Creative Communities Initiative (ccimit.mit.edu); and the Open Documentary Lab (opendoclab.mit.edu).

Media Contacts:

Play Labs
Rizwan Virk
riz@playlabs.tv

Kate Pietrelli for Play Labs
kate@pathadvisors.com
+1 760-518-2633

MIT Game Lab and Ludus
Rik Eberhardt
gamelab-request@mit.edu

Investor Contacts:

Play Labs
Tuff Yen
tuff@playlabs.tv

Play Labs is now part of GAN (the Global Accelerator Network)

We are happy to announce that Play Labs@MIT is now part of GAN, the Global Accelerator Network, a highly-curated community of independent accelerators, corporates, and investors and creates opportunities around the world for startups to access the human and financial capital they need to build businesses and make a meaningful impact, wherever they call home.

GAN encompasses 80+ accelerators in over 100 cities and over 5,000 accelerator alumni around the world. 

GAN provides resources to startups in accelerators.  This means Play Labs founders will now also get access to:

• Resources. Play Labs founders are now eligible for over $1m in perks ranging from AWS and IBM, to co-working and HR., partnerships, and an amazing community of alumni. 
• Investor Network. Startups in PlayLabs will be eligible for investment from the GAN Ventures, which invests in startups coming out of GAN programs, as well as providing connections to a global network of investors. 
• Post Accelerator assistance.  GAN members can help our startups with their post-accelerator plans, particularly if you're relocating to a city where there are other GAN members.

"GAN accelerators are passionate about giving startups the power to create and grow wherever they are, and Play Labs @ MIT is no exception," said Patrick Riley, CEO of GAN.  "Their Executive Director, Rizwan Virk, has built an incredibly strong mentor network that's providing strong support to their founders alongside global connections to corporations and investors. Needless to say, GAN couldn't be more excited to work with Play Labs and their founders!" 

Play Labs Application Deadline extended until Feb 28!

New Application Deadline: Feb 28

Want to build your playful tech startup (VR/AR/AI, etc) this summer?

Let us help you with funding, facilities, and mentorship from industry leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and MIT faculty.

Apply before February 28 to become a part of the first batch of Play Labs and build your startup on the MIT Campus this summer!  

Get more info and apply online at www.playlabs.tv

Still looking for an idea?
See our Request for Startups

Curious why we started Play Labs?
Read the post by our Executive Director, Riz Virk, Why We Started Play Labs

Questions about Play Labs and whether your startup/idea qualifies?
Read our updated FAQ or email us at info@playlabs.tv

Special Note: Want to apply but you're not from MIT?
We've received quite a few inquiries from non-MIT teams. As a result, we are opening up one slot in the program for "visiting scholar" teams (teams that are affiliated with another university in the Boston area). See our FAQ for specifics, or email us at  info@playlabs.tv. 

Request for Startups

Sometimes, you want to apply to an incubator like Play Labs but haven't yet decided on the idea you want to work on.  

This Request for Startups is basically a list of areas that we are interested in, and we'd love to have talented founders take a look at these areas.

NOTE: If you already have an idea you are excited about, you should definitely apply with your idea.  On the other hand, if you are say, a great technical founder, but haven't yet decided waht you want to work on, then take a look at these areas and see if one calls out to you.

Feel free to email us at info@playlabs.tv if you have questions about any of these or are a technical or business co founder looking for a team or an idea.

• Social VR/AR applications - both physical & virtual interaction (what could a VR theme park, how do families engage in VR experiences, thinking beyond one person in a headset and beyond play as novelty)
   
• eSports.   We are big believers in eSports.  The younger generation doesn't want to watch professionals playing football or basketball nearly as much as watching the best CS:GO or LOL  players compete.  There are many possibilities in this field.   
  • tools for creating, analytics, new games made for esports experiences (both for existing esport audiences & new), new modes of spectation, tools for broadcasting & commentators
     
• 360 videos.  360 Videos have taken the world by storm.  Not only are they supported by Youtube, Facebook, and others, but Hollywood and entertainment types are jumping on the bandwagon.  Moreover, for VR headsets, one of the most popular activities to date is to watch 360 videos.  We believe the emergence of VR/AR headsets may require a rethinking of how video is stored, edited and streamed.
  • tools for creating, editing, storing, streaming, viewing, compressing for both live action and for virtual gameplay and virtual worlds. 

• Playful civic engagement - apps/platforms engaging communities with politics, news, governance in positive and beneficial ways, helping people understand the world around them and how they are a part of it

• VR/AR games for understanding & solving problems -  learning games that go beyond training & skills assessment.

• 3D Modeling, Rendering - for the most part, existing 3D models and tools have been built for rendering scenes, characters in 2D formats - games on a computer screen, special effects on a movie or TV screen. 

• AR/VR with the real world - tools for modeling actual physical places and bring them into virtual worlds.
   
• VR/AR games - we'd like to see games which provide a different perspective, not simply a VR version of a first person shooter.
   
• Analytics and tools for VR/AR environments - how does analytics change in a virtual environment? Tools to make building VR/AR projects easier.
   
• AI / machine vision - as the real world and the virtual worlds are more integrated, there need to be better algorithms and tools for incorporating machine vision into applications.
   
• Entertainment - VR/AR is not just another platform but a different type of entertainment platform.  How would you design movies, shows, or other experiences that are VR from the ground up, rather than adapting existing entertainment experiences into VR?
   
• Business application for VR/AR - Some people think that the killer apps for VR (and particularly AR headsets) are business applications.  Places where VR/AR headsets can reside for specific business purposes - we'd like to see startups tackle these problems.

Why We Started Play Labs, Part I

 (Part I: The Structure of the Accelerator, by Riz Virk)

I co-founded my first startup barely a year after graduating from MIT and it was definitely like “being thrown into the deep end” without any training or a life raft.  I told the story of some of our struggles in my first book, Zen Entrepreneurship.  It was a case of blindly finding our way through the wilderness without a map.

With Play Labs I wanted to create an accelerator that was a half-way point between being a student (or employee for recent alums) and being “cut loose” in the wild jungle of entrepreneurship.

More specifically, we designed Play Labs for both MIT students and alumni so that they could have what we didn’t have in those days: Funding, Facilities, Mentorship and Peer Support.

Funding.

We literally had no funding when we launched my very first startup, Brainstorm.  We barely had enough money to buy our first few computers.  In those days we did what was called the “Lechmere” shuffle, which later became the “’Best Buy” shuffle –we would buy computers and return them within 30 days, then buy new computers.

Not only were we not paying ourselves in those early days, but we borrowed $5,000 from my co-founder Mitch’s parents just so we could afford to buy plane tickets and tickets for a conference in Florida where we wanted to launch our product!

Luckily, our first product launch went well enough (we sold copies right on the trade show floor) that we were able to pay back the loan, and still had enough money left over to finally buy our first few computers outright!  We were then able, based on the success of our product launch, to raise a little more money from family and friends to get an office space and get the company properly set up.

The initial funding we’re at offering at Play Labs to our participants ($20k) is just enough to get a startup going, with basic technology needs (no more doing the Best Buy shuffle!), expenses for any travel (no need to borrow from your parents for that trip to visit a customer or attend a conference!), and provide each member of the team some basic living stipend during the summer.  The amount is also not so much that the startup is in danger of spending money on anything that is non-essential.    If the startup is able to meet certain milestones, we will put in more funding (as part of a seed round) to help it get to the next level.

Facilities. 

In my first startup, we were literally two guys in a garage (without the garage - we started our first company in the living room of our apartment in Framingham – I have always contended that garages in New England are too cold in the winter for startups!). While this had the added benefit of being able to work late into the night and then roll into bed,  it wasn’t an ideal situation and could only last so long.

After we had raised some seed money from family and friends, we found an office space in Cambridge, but had to sign a lease, which was another novel experience for someone who’d never done it before.  Would we have enough cash to pay rent for the whole year? We weren’t sure, but went ahead anyways and then had to buy furniture, too.

The Play Labs incubator was designed to give startup teams workspace on the MIT campus, with other like-minded teams of students and alumni. No having to sign leases or buy furniture or worry about conference rooms.

Moreover, being in the same space with other entrepreneurs is part of how the program is designed.  I believe that having exposure to other scan be inspirational and supportive, which is why we’ll be housing the various teams together so they can get ideas and help each other.

Mentorship and Peer Support.

My first startup, like most startups (first or second or third!), was very stressful.

During those days, I attended a CEO group in Cambridge of other entrepreneurs and mentors that was very helpful in keeping my sanity.  Although I wasn’t doing video games at the time, some of the other members of the group were, including Shawn Broderick of Genetic Anomalies and Alex Rigopolous of Harmonix.  Seeing the struggles that the other entrepreneurs in my group were going through was strangely therapeutic – not only did it make me feel less alone as a CEO, it helped to know that others were going through similar battles and surviving, if not thriving!

I had many mentors during my first startup, most of who I met along the way and rather randomly.   These advisors ranged from seasoned managers to insightful investors (including MIT alums like Brad Feld, and Joe Hadzima, who teaches the Nuts and Bolts course at MIT) and many others.  They did everything from invest themselves to providing intros to VCs to help me in the hiring process.

The Play Labs program was meant to provide a more formal way to get mentorship.  In addition to Peer Support Groups,  the MIT Game Lab faculty & staff are here to help with product development and design; the business mentors will help with various aspects of the startup, including providing introductions and advice on launching the startup.  We will also provide support for how to structure the company, founder equity and other legal issues.   We will also have many speakers who are relevant to the industries that our startups will be in – and I know in my own experience hearing about a successful (or even unsuccessful) startup in my industry is always a thought-provoking experience that can motivate an entrepreneur in many ways.

In summary, I designed Play Labs so that the next generation of MIT entrepreneurs will have many of the things that I didn’t when I did my first startup as a fresh faced recent grad, and many of the things I had to discover along the way on my own!   Onward together!

Welcome to Play Labs @ MIT

Welcome to the new website for Play Labs @ MIT.  Stay tuned for our formal announcement, and updates on the program, startups, and more!