iPhone maker Apple Inc. today confirmed to Bloomberg that it has acquired the virtual reality startup NextVR Inc., which specializes in creating VR video content based on events such as sports matches and musical performances.

Apple didn’t say how much it was paying to acquire NextVR, but Bloomberg said the deal is expected to be valued at about $100 million, which matches with previous reports of the potential acquisition. NextVR stopped operating as an independent entity last week, and its website is now just a simple landing page that says new things are coming in future.

NextVR is based in Orange County, California. It specializes in creating VR content that can be viewed on consumer headsets such as Facebook Inc.’s Oculus, the PlayStation VR and others.

The startup is also known for its partnerships with the NBA and Wimbledon to stream live sports from specialized cameras set up courtside to people’s headsets at home. The effect is meant to make people feel as though they’re sitting in premium seats, watching the game. NextVR also struck deals to stream music events and some of the debates from the 2016 presidential race.

Apple hasn’t indicated what it intends to do with NextVR, but analysts say it’s possible that the company intends to produce similar content for its own customers.

“With Apple’s more recent foray into services and content it could make use of NextVR in the sports VR space,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “After all, Apple has the financial resources to secure the distribution rights for expensive sports content, and it has a clear need for more services and content. Sports beats movies when it comes to making content, as it occurs already, needs no production and has a loyal view base.”

Apple is known to have hired numerous engineers specializing in augmented reality, which is closely related to VR. It has also built several expensive AR components for its mobile devices. And it has created a set of tools for AR, called ARKit, for use by its developer community over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has made statements in the past suggesting he believes AR is a major part of the company’s future.

Apple has also reportedly been working on developing its own VR and AR hardware for quite some time. The company is said to working on a pair of AR glasses or some type of headset that would have a VR component similar to Microsoft Corp.’s HoloLens. In addition, Apple now has its own video streaming platform, Apple TV+, which gives it an outlet from which it can stream live content captured with NextVR’s cameras to its devices.

It’s also believed that Apple could be interested in several patents NextVR holds. The company is said to hold patents for VR and upscaling video streams.

Image: NextVR