High Fidelity, Inc.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Virtual reality, 3D audio technology |
| Founded | April 2013 |
| Founder | Philip Rosedale, Ryan Downe Karpf, Irena Freidrica Heiberger |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
| Products | Virtual reality platform, spatial 3D audio technology, virtual collaboration tool |
| Website | highfidelity |
High Fidelity is an American firm based in San Francisco, originally concentrating on social virtual reality. Since 2020, the company has redirected its efforts toward 3D audio technology.
Company
Established in April 2013 by Second Life founder and former CEO Philip Rosedale, alongside Ryan Downe Karpf and Irena Freidrica Heiberger, High Fidelity set out to create a cutting-edge virtual reality platform. Its vision included low-latency spatial 3D audio, immersive environments, lifelike avatars, and a blockchain-powered economic system.
In early 2013, the company raised $2.4 million in seed funding led by True Ventures and Google Ventures. It secured $11 million from Vulcan Capital in 2015, followed by a $22 million investment in December 2016 from IDG Capital and Breyer Capital. In June 2018, High Fidelity completed a $35 million funding round spearheaded by Galaxy Digital Ventures’ Galaxy EOS Ecosystem Fund, with additional backing from Blockchain Capital, Breyer Capital, IDG Capital Partners, and Vulcan Capital.
Products
High Fidelity developed a virtual reality platform that allowed users to design, launch, and engage within virtual worlds capable of hosting up to 500 participants simultaneously. The software was offered at no cost, was open source, and supported most VR headsets as well as desktop mode.
To facilitate commerce and safeguard digital assets, the company implemented a blockchain-based Digital Asset Registry (DAR), which assigned a unique identifier to each digital item within a decentralized ledger. Participants could buy and sell virtual goods and services using High Fidelity's stablecoin cryptocurrency called High Fidelity Coin (HFC).
The platform entered open beta in April 2016. In 2017, High Fidelity produced six episodes of the VR talk show Glitched: A VR Talk Show and initiated a weekly VR dance party series featuring DJ Tha Phlash. The following year, it hosted a speaker series where CEO Philip Rosedale engaged with futurists and VR specialists such as Jeremy Bailenson and Peter Diamandis.
In November 2018, High Fidelity organized FUTVRE LANDS, recognized as the first entirely VR-based music and entertainment festival. This event attracted 466 avatars representing 47 countries and showcased live performances by advisor Thomas Dolby, interactive art installations, trivia contests, and exclusive merchandise sold through the platform’s marketplace.
By early 2019, the company transitioned from VR social events to an audio-only spatial platform where participants are represented as dots on an overhead map, facilitating proximity-based conversations.
In March 2019, High Fidelity hosted Multi-Con, a virtual reality comic convention featuring cosplay contests, fan artwork displays, and celebrity panels with MythBusters personalities Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara. The event also marked the debut of voice actor James Arnold Taylor’s VR show “Talking to Myself.”
In May 2019, High Fidelity shifted its focus toward enterprise solutions by creating a virtual collaboration tool aimed at remote teams accessible via desktop or VR devices. This platform utilizes spatialized 3D audio combined with realistic avatars to improve the quality of virtual meetings.
The demand for High Fidelity’s virtual meeting technology increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2022, High Fidelity made an investment in Linden Research to support further development of the Second Life virtual environment.