VR collaboration platform Morpheus announced on Tuesday it had launched its virtual reality (VR) remote collaboration platform to boost engagement across enterprises.
According to the virtual-first company, it aims to provide a one-stop shop for firms seeking to create healthier corporate cultures, reduce Zoom fatigue, and “future-proof their business.”
The development comes after the enterprise raised $2.2 million USD in pre-seed funding. Companies such as Incisive Ventures, DVC Fund, Primal Capital, and others contributed to the pre-seed round.
Named after the Greek god of shapes, forms, and dreams, Morpheus will also offer its platform to Fortune 2000 firms, complete with high-fidelity virtual spaces, an immersive experiences marketplace, and a catalogue of VR services, including onboarding and headset deployments.
The novel platform aims to tackle companies “overwhelmed” with VR adoption by guiding firms with bespoke roadmaps for VR utilisation, both internally and long term. Such efforts aim to boost real-world return on investment (ROI) for companies working with teams in disparate locations.
Morpheus Features and Integrations
Morpheus supplies users with mobile and desktop apps, including others using laptops, PCs, and smartphones. Currently, the company exclusively uses Meta Quest 2 headsets for headset deployments.
To increase interoperability for users, the Morpheus platform integrates Ready Player Me avatars. People joining the platform can do so with their custom avatars in a matter of minutes.
The platform also features custom consulting and stakeholder engagement services to build virtual meeting services, namely for team building, leadership development, onboarding, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) training, and health and wellness, among others.
To date, Morpheus has facilitated VR collaboration sessions for major big tech firms like Meta Platforms, Google, Gather, Adobe, Gensler, Biogen, Randstad, RideAmigos, and numerous others.
The updates come after a Citigroup report that estimates roughly one billion headset users by 2030.
Jeffrey Chernick, CEO and Co-Founder, Morpheus
Jeffrey Chernick, Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Morpheus
The Morpheus CEO cited studies that VR users trained four times faster than in classroom environments and gained a fourfold increase in focus compared to e-learners.
He added: “Bringing VR to distributed teams is not just a technological revolution, but a fundamental shift in how we collaborate and innovate. It transcends physical boundaries, unites diverse talents, and empowers teams to unleash their full potential.”
Such new realities would provide companies with VR remote collaboration opportunities to “evolve the way they engage, connect, and create,” leading to “unprecedented” growth and success.
David Gaspar, Partner and Head of Innovation, Gather
Gasper said that Morpheus had “unraveled the complexity of VR” with a “visually stunning and customized solution” providing practical value for his teams.
He explained: “Relationships and workplace camaraderie are the lifeblood of any business, and Morpheus is creating opportunities to bond on a personal level ensuring we are a team, not just a collection of individuals working for a paycheck”
Jennifer Regan, COO and Co-Founder, Morpheus
Jen Regan, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Morpheus
The Morpheus exec added that collaboration was “vital” for developing relationships and maintaining team cohesiveness.
She continued that global employees had reported burnout and decreasing engagement with 2D video conferencing platforms. Conversely, current immersive platforms were optimised for gaming or were creating empty office environments “in hopes that day-to-day work activities will miraculously shift into VR.”
Concluding, Regan said: “We solve this problem by creating meaningful and purposeful ways for enterprise teams to connect in VR today through high quality live facilitated workshops on mission critical topics”
Misha Krymov, President and Co-Founder, Morpheus
Misha Krymov, Morpheus President and Co-Founder
The Morpheus president explained that the industry had reached an “inflection point” with new opportunities to reimagine work experiences.
He explained he did not want to “simply re-create the boardroom” while having the freedom to design “out-of-this-world branded spaces to boost innovation, ideas, and person-to-person bonding.
Krymov concluded: “The immersiveness of VR offers a better space and a better way to connect with your team and your brand, solving the biggest struggle felt by all remote companies today – authentic connection and togetherness.”
Metaverse Interview with Morpheus
When asked by XR Today about the company’s plans to scale up its headset deployment options beyond the Quest 2, Chernick explained that Morpheus aimed to get early access to “as many headsets as possible.”
He said that the Meta Quest 2 offered a greater cost efficiency to performance ratio, adding that comparative headsets such as the Pico were considered for global clients outside of the United States and other markets.
Chernick continued, stating,
“Our long-term vision is that we’re on all major headsets. Ours is just a matter of prioritising. At this moment in the US, the Quest 2 dominates in usage and demand. But we do see an ecosystem rising and want to be accessible to all.”
When asked by XR Today on the turnaround time to deploy bespoke worlds, Chernick explained that Morpheus used its sandboxed platform to allow anyone to build their worlds.
Developers could purchase Unity-based worlds and upload the files directly to the VR remote collaboration platform. Morpheus-developed worlds had a turnaround time of two to three weeks and included teams outside in-house workers, he added.
“We found some of our best world builders from the Burning Man event, because they were all amazing Unity world builders,” Chernick added.
Regan added that the firm could take up to six weeks to build some worlds based on complexity, scale, customisation, number of artefacts, and design. The platform’s Creator Toolbox allowed users to upload their tailored Unity files directly to headsets quickly, empowering creatives and private firms.
For more information on Morpheus, kindly visit their website.
