Ashley Crowder: VNTANA

Holograms and hardware: just one piece of VNTANA's strategy to become the go-to platform for brands to engage with customers using AR and mixed reality. Augmented reality is a big buzzword these days. But most companies are focusing on creating content. Because of her deep technical background, Ashley and her company started with a portable holographic projection system, and they are now positioning themselves as the go-to platform for brands to leverage and capitalize on mixed reality experiences. I was curious to hear her thoughts on the future of AR and VR, and how businesses can best leverage these technologies. I was also excited to learn how she built this hardware company from the ground up and how they plan to scale production. But the most interesting aspect might be how they are evolving into a full platform that works with anyone's hardware. And how she is integrating technologies like data analysis, AI, motion capture, and facial recognition to engage more deeply with customers. We also talk how she successfully raised money since her company's business model is a very non-traditional investment for venture capital. The views expressed on The Art of Manufacturing podcast are those of the guests, and not our sponsors or partners. For more information, photos, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/ashleycrowder.