Augmented reality (AR) company Nextech has revealed plans to launch an NFT hologram creator platform, the company announced in a press release last week.
The Toronto, Canada-based company said its HoloX hologram creator platform aimed at providing customers with AR-enhanced digital collectibles and was set for launch in the third fiscal quarter.
The announcement comes after Nextech recently signed a two-stage plan to roll out AR human holograms purchased from third-party marketplaces.
The first stage would allow customers to view and experience purchased holograms via a digital wallet using HoloX, with the second stage for buyers to purchase and sell on the platform.
The news comes amid a surge in NFT markets in the second quarter, totalling $2.5 billion USD in sales in 2021, up from $13.7 million the same period last year, data cited in a Reuters report showed.
The findings were revealed as Nextech negotiates with current marketplaces to promote its Threedly.AI 3D content creation technology, which allows users to convert NFT artwork into AR-enhanced NFTs.
NFT photos can be onboarded, converted into NFTs, and served to clients via a Javascript tag integration included on the platform, which will aim to produce thousands of 3D models each week.
Dawsyn Borland, VP of AR Innovation Labs and Content, said the venture was an “exciting step forward” for the company, creators, and consumers, adding:
“AR experiences are extremely well positioned as NFTs, as they not only display digital content but allow buyers to interact with them. Our current technology stack is perfectly in line with the global adoption of NFTs and we are thrilled to meet this growing demand”
Evan Gappelberg, Nextech Chief Executive Officer, added the new platform would be an exciting market opportunity and could “squarely put us in the world of blockchain by merging our AR tech with NFT technology” following the platform’s completion.
Speaking on the use of AI in the HoloX platform, he continued, stating:
“Our AR creation technology leverages AI allowing us to scale up the production of high-quality and personalized content as a hologram NFT, be it your favorite athletes, artist or artwork”
Global Businesses Explore Revenues with NFTs
The developments follow a Garter report, which found the digital human economy was excpected to reach $125 billion in value by 2035 and grow across numerous “industries and use cases”.
Global firms and organisations have begun adopting NFT content, namely after the United States Space Force (USSF) commemorated a launch of GPS satellites with NFT holograms in mid-June.
AR-backed social media giant Snap also partnered with Universal Music Group in a multi-year deal to promote NFT content from artists across its Sounds and AR Lenses tools.
Anima, a cryptocurrency startup firm, also began exploring AR solutions for curating NFT content following a pre-seed fundraising round, which earned $500,000 from several key partners.
AR content was also developed for artists such as Jeezy and John Lennon in partnership with Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc, ImagineAR Inc, McCartney Multimedia, and Oasis Digital Studios.
