The maker of the Vive virtual reality headset HTC Corp. announced today that the company has added 26 new startups to its Vive X accelerator program.

Vive X works as a service-oriented strategic investor that offers access to expertise, resources and planning throughout the augmented reality and virtual reality industry. Once on board, HTC Vive helps startups mature and go to market, with the intention of broadening the reach and appeal of AR and VR.

This is the third round of Vive X investments, which puts the total number of startups in the program at 80. The program currently operates in five locations across the globe, including San Francisco, Beijing, Shenzhen, Taipei and now also Tel Aviv.

“Our focus with Vive X is to partner with companies across the globe that will solve industry pain-points and improve user experiences across AR and VR,” said Marc Metis, vice president of HTC Vive. “This third batch is filled with incredibly talented and promising teams who are focusing on foundational technologies and key verticals including enterprise, healthcare, entertainment and education.”

The AR/VR industry has seen slow growth since the introduction of virtual reality headsets to the mass consumer market in 2015 and 2016 with the release of the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift and the PlayStation VR for PCs and consoles and various mobile-based headsets such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream.

According to a report from Allied Business Intelligence Research Inc. put the VR market near $60 billion worldwide by 2021, a prediction tempered by a lack of content filling the market during the past year. And a report from Venture Reality Fund showed that investments in the AR/VR topped $2.3 billion this year with entertainment and enterprise markets leading the way.

In what analytics firm Canalys called an industry first, more than a million VR headsets were shipped globally in the third quarter of 2017.

Startups joining the Vive X program this round run the gamut of industry use for AR and VR including medicine, education, entertainment and enterprise markets.

Some examples include QuarkVR, developer of compression and streaming technology for untethered VR and AR experiences; positional tracking solutions from Antilatency for mobile and tethered VR headsets; Configreality, developer of a spatial compression algorithm designed to allow users to feel as if they’re moving in a large area when actual physical space is limited; and brain-computer interface developer Neurable, a company that is using advancements in electroencephalography to bring real-time “brain control” to VR.

Educationally focused startups include JuDaoEdu, a firm dedicated to the research and development of VR labs for K-12 students for physics, chemistry, biology and science education; and Lenqiy, a VR content developer producing science, engineering, technology, art and mathematics VR tools for teenagers.

The Vive X program also brought on board a number of companies looking to expand into entertainment such as video game studios including Cloudgate Studio, developer of VR titles Brookhaven Experiment and Island 359; Future Tech, the studio behind the “Mars Alive” project; and Pillow’s Willow VR Studios creating non-violent VR games based on fairy tales for all ages to enjoy.

Beijing-based Yue Cheng Tech, also joining Vive X, which seeks to become the Netflix of VR, has selected more than 300 high-quality VR experiences from over 50 partners across 15 countries. The company also opened the first professional VR cinema in China in partnership with HTC Vive.

Startups and developers interested in joining Vive X can learn more or apply on HTC Vive’s website.

Image: HTC