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YCW18 Application
Application Date: October 2017
Simula
(Please don't password protect it; just use an obscure url.)
https://github.com/SimulaVR/Simula
Run Linux Desktop on (standalone) VR/AR headsets.
We're making the world's first VR Linux distro, runnable as a standalone OS on any Head-Mounted Display (HMD) or VR/AR-equipped computer. We're doing this because we believe the following:
(T) Most people think that the future of VR is in games and entertainment, but it is also in office work; in particular, VR is going to replace screens and laptops.
Because of (T), the VR industry is too biased towards Windows (where PC games are traditionally deployed); moreover, nobody is thinking about how VR can be optimized for (i) clear text resolution and (ii) having multiple 2D and 3D apps simultaneously running in a shared workspace.
The product will work like this: simply plug in your headset, install our OS (or its window manager), and all of your existing 2D and 3D Linux applications will float in a shared work space (3D applications reside in either "cuboids" or "2D portals", as shown in our demo). This will give users unlimited virtual screens (of any size), crystal clear text resolution (something the OS will be optimized for), and Linux. Initially, the OS will be able to run on any VR ready computer, but our ultimate goal is for manufacturers to be able run it as a standalone OS on their own HMDs (which increases our distribution upper bound; see below).
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Value proposition for consumers: A distraction-free, highly immersive and unlimited VR workspace that is 10x better than using physical screens. Literally: users can have 10x as many screens as they currently do. Each of these screens is more than 10x cheaper (i.e., free) than any physical alternative. A VR headset is even 10x smaller than a multi-monitor setup, and can fit in a bag.
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Value proposition for HMD manufacturers: A free and open-source VR OS they can modify and deploy on their headsets without having to pay Microsoft for any licensing fees.
Something analogous to (2) held for Android in the late 2000s. During this period, Apple was closed off to smartphone manufacturers, while Microsoft's mobile platform had expensive licensing fees and closed-source barriers to the hardware. This created an opportunity for a Linux-based OS to take off -- an OS which is now installed on over 1.5 billion devices. In this sense, Simula wants to be "Android for VR".
Virtual Reality
Yes
VR & AR
(List as City A, Country A / City B, Country B.)
NYC, USA / NYC, USA
580-484-3976
12 Please enter the url of a 1 minute unlisted (not private) YouTube video introducing the founders. (Follow the Video Guidelines.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUd1XD09JXs
13 Please tell us about an interesting project, preferably outside of class or work, that two or more of you created together. Include urls if possible.
We tried, unsuccessfully, to use an EEG headset to control a computer mouse. One of us worked on the hardware (assembling the headset, adjusting sensors, etc) while the other worked on the software.
14 How long have the founders known one another and how did you meet? Have any of the founders not met in person?
We met in preschool at age 5, and we’ve been working on side projects since age 16. At that time we started building computers together, investing together, and playing online poker.
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We have a working prototype of a 3D Window Manager (~10KLOC). While our older prototype worked on the Oculus D2K and Razer HDK2, we are still trying to get our current codebase to support the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift CV1.
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Our code is open-sourced under an Apache license; on GitHub we have 86 stars, 8 watchers, 4 contributors, and 5 forks.
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We are partnered with an AR headset manufacturer (auroratechar.com) who is internally making a Linux-based VR window manager for their next headset release. We have agreed to share code (theirs is private; ours is public), and have discussed the possibility of merging codebases and running Simula on their headset if we get further along.
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We have a list of 20 users who have expressed interest in beta-testing the compositor on the Vive once we are finished. We got this user list from reddit, where people have expressed interest in Linux VR Desktop.
16 How long have each of you been working on this? Have you been part-time or full-time? Please explain.
We've been working on this idea full-time since early December of 2016. Before that, George dropped out of his PhD program and Carl left the military after completing his service.
Prototype
Christmas
19 How many active users or customers do you have? If you have some particularly valuable customers, who are they?
We have 20 people signed up to beta-test our prototype once it runs on the HTC Vive (right now it only runs on a normal monitor). Our most valuable customers are the intersection of VR and Linux enthusiasts. We think we can take an immediate monopoly of this market (see our answer to "how will you get users?")
No
(Please use USD. If none, enter '0')
N/A
4000
$10,000
1 year+
31 If you've applied previously with the same idea, how much progress have you made since the last time you applied? Anything change?
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We have a working prototype of a 3D Window Manager (~10KLOC). While our older prototype worked on the Oculus D2K and Razer HDK2, we are still trying to get our current codebase to support the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift CV1.
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Our code is open-sourced under an Apache license; on GitHub we have 86 stars, 8 watchers, 4 contributors, and 5 forks.
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We are partnered with an AR headset manufacturer (auroratechar.com) who is internally making a Linux-based VR window manager for their next headset release. We have agreed to share code (theirs is private; ours is public), and have discussed the possibility of merging codebases and running Simula on their headset if we get further along.
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We have a list of 20 users who have expressed interest in beta-testing the compositor on the Vive once we are finished. We got this user list from reddit, where several people have expressed interest in Linux VR Desktop.
32 If you have already participated or committed to participate in an incubator, "accelerator" or "pre-accelerator" program, please tell us about it.
N/A
33 Why did you pick this idea to work on? Do you have domain expertise in this area? How do you know people need what you're making?
We picked this idea for the following reasons:
- We want to build a 10x product, not an incremental one (see "what is your company going to make?"). If we are successful, this idea could non-trivially change the way that millions of people physically interact with computers.
- The idea is highly contrarian, and follows from 3 key beliefs we have about the future of VR that most people don't ѕhare (see "what do you understand about your business that other companies in it just don't get?").
- We are users of our own product: we have been running multi-screen Linux rigs for years. We already work in VR, even though the resolutions are low, the only option is Windows, and the future will be much better.
- The idea has a chance to scale from a small monopoly to something large (see "how will you get users?").
- The timing is right: While the big tech firms are popularizing VR as an entertainment platform, the timing is perfect for a startup to start building on the technology as a work platform.
- The technology is aesthetically pleasing to work with, since it lies at the intersection of programming, mathematics, and hardware.
- The idea is consistent with our theory of human nature, which is that humans evolved to think and process information geospatially (i.e., in 3D), not hunched over keyboards staring at tiny 2D screens.
34 What's new about what you're making? What substitutes do people resort to because it doesn't exist yet (or they don't know about it)?
The old: laptops, dual monitors, or oversized screens. The new:
- 10x the screen real estate
- 10x less physical space taken on your desk
- 10x immersion and focus
With VR Desktop every user can have a workstation more impressive than a NASA engineer or a Wall Street trader.
Nobody is explicitly targeting Linux Desktop users like we are, primarily because it is such a small market (1%-2% of all PC desktops run Linux).
That said, Microsoft Holographic is providing the well-polished, proprietary VR OS; meanwhile, other VR Desktop startups (BigScreen) are based in the MS ecosystem. In addition, some headset manufacturers appear to be making their own VR OS's internally.
What we fear the most is probably Valve's SteamVR organically evolving into a viable VR desktop environment (to the surprise of people who think of it primarily as a gaming platform). The same holds for Google Daydream or Oculus.
Other risk factors:
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Headset Friction. The friction of having to mount and unmount an HMD just to access your OS might prohibit VR Desktops from taking off.
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Lack of Open-Source Durability. Open source projects are easily forkable. Simula lacks durability.
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Poor Text Resolution. You can't spend 16 hours a day in VR Desktop if the text resolut is poor. Industry improvements to GPUs and HMDs might solve this for us, but if it doesn’t there might be other techniques (vector-based 3D text rendering) that we can try.
Our idea follows from 3 contrarian beliefs:
(T1) Most people think that the future of VR is in games and entertainment, but it is also in office work; in particular, VR is going to replace screens and laptops.
Because of (T1), the VR industry is too biased towards Windows (where PC games are deployed). Ours is based on Linux (small and overlooked starting point). It’s not focused on video games or entertainment experiences (SteamVR, Daydream, Oculus), but on "boring", 2D work applications.
(T2) Most people think that VR is about single-purpose 3D applications, but VR is just as much about multi-purpose 2D applications.
Simula aims to let 2D and 3D apps reside and communicate with each other in a single shared workspace (see our prototype). Contrast this with existing VR applications (like Tilt Brush), which run once at a time.
(T3) Most people think that VR should be optimized for terrain and video display, but VR should also be optimized for clear text resolution.
Clear text resolution is a requirement for VR to become a viable work platform: people must be able to read code, spreadsheets, and information with 100% clarity in order for VR to be truly 10x better than physical screens.
(We realize you can't know precisely, but give your best estimate.)
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Marketplace. Simula could be used as a platform to build a marketplace for 3D work applications.
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Licensing Fees. Right now we intend for the OS to be free and permissively licensed, but perhaps down the line this could change into a dual-license model.
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Search Ads. Canonical monetizes Ubuntu by putting Amazon affiliate links in their start menu search results. We could try to do something similar with Simula.
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Strategic Asset. We don’t know much about tech M&A, but it’s conceivable that a bigger company could swallow us. For example, Canonical might purchase our window manager to meaningfully differentiate Ubuntu from Apple.
(1) is our favorite option. This would incentivize the creation of interesting office applications, and could give us a valuation -- in the best of all worlds -- comparable to other app stores. (4) is our least favorite option.
38 How will you get users? If your idea is the type that faces a chicken-and-egg problem in the sense that it won't be attractive to users till it has a lot of users (e.g. a marketplace, a dating site, an ad network), how will you overcome that?
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0-10,000 Users: Target the intersection of VR enthusiasts and Linux enthusiasts, especially those that are interested in getting more screen real estate (i.e., https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13405472). Our value proposition to these people: "take your Vive or Rift, plug it into your Linux system, and multiply your screen real estate by 10."
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10,000-100,000 Users: Make it easy to virtually collaborate with others.
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100,000 - 1,000,000+ Users: Distribute Simula as a standalone OS that comes pre-installed on VR/AR HMDs.
No
(e.g. Delaware C Corp)
41 Please describe the breakdown of the equity ownership in percentages among the founders, employees and any other stockholders.
42 List any investments your company has received. Include the name of the investor, the amount invested, the premoney valuation / valuation cap, and the type of security sold (convertible notes, safes or stock).
43 If you have not formed the company yet, describe the planned equity ownership breakdown among the founders, employees and any other proposed stockholders.
(This question is as much for you as us.)
50/50 between the two founders.
N/A.
45 Are any of the founders covered by noncompetes or intellectual property agreements that overlap with your project? If so, please explain.
No.
46 Who writes code, or does other technical work on your product? Was any of it done by a non-founder? Please explain.
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One of us (George) focuses on the code. The other (Carl) focuses on the business aspects of the project, but still knows some basics about how to code.
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We initially used freelancers to help kickstart the harder parts of the project (i.e., graphics programming and so forth). In some cases we bought people VR headsets in return for their advice, and to incentivize future contributions.
(Pending lawsuits, cofounders who have left, etc.)
No.
48 If you had any other ideas you considered applying with, please list them. One may be something we've been waiting for. Often when we fund people it's to do something they list here and not in the main application.
We considered applying several months ago with the following idea: use EEG as an input device to replace the mouse and keyboard (i.e., "think typing"). This would be for healthy people just as much as the disabled.
The timing isn't as good for this ideas as it is for VR Desktop.
(The answer need not be related to your project.)
If you want to listen to a book that hasn't been converted to an audiobook, you can download its PDF and listen to it via Text-To-Speech engines, which have gotten surprisingly good over the past few years.
YC and San Francisco are the two best places in the world to learn how to scale a project into a business.
Paul Graham Essays