UploadVR
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Predecessor | UploadVR, Inc.; Upload, Inc. |
| Founded | January 1, 2014 in San Francisco, United States |
| Founder | Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, Nick St. Pierre |
| Headquarters | Marina del Rey , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Taylor Freeman (CEO), Will Mason (President) |
| Products | UploadVR website (virtual reality news and trade content) |
UVR Media, LLC—previously known as UploadVR, Inc. and Upload, Inc.—is a United States-based media company that manages UploadVR, a website dedicated to virtual reality news and trade content.
Established in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, and Nick St. Pierre in San Francisco, the business initially operated as a coworking facility before broadening its scope to include event management, startup incubation, and media production. In 2017, after changing its name to Upload and moving its headquarters to Marina del Rey, the firm became involved in a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. This dispute was resolved through a settlement that same September. Upload brought on Anne Ahola Ward as COO, who introduced compulsory anti-harassment training before her departure later that year. Facing financial difficulties, Upload shut down its coworking spaces and offices in March 2018; however, the UploadVR website continued operations under the newly formed UVR Media entity.
History
Upload was originally launched as UploadVR in 2014 by founders Taylor Freeman, William "Will" Mason, and Nicholas "Nick" St. Pierre in San Francisco. St. Pierre exited the company in early 2016, while Freeman and Mason assumed roles as CEO and president respectively. Mason also began contributing editorial pieces to the company’s website, which featured regular input from writers such as Ryan Damm and Matthew Terndrup.
In December 2015, UploadVR obtained seed capital from Shanda. The following month, it inaugurated Upload Collective—a coworking and incubation hub hosting numerous startups alongside frequent events. Strategic collaborations included partnerships with Udacity, Google, HTC, and Unity to create the VR Nanodegree program, as well as cooperation with Make School to launch the UploadVR Academy, a 10-week intensive course for advanced VR developers.
A Series A financing round completed in September 2016 raised funds led by Colopl, attracting investors like General Catalyst, NetEase, Sparkland Capital, Unity Ventures, GREE, among others. Private investor Joe Kraus also contributed additional capital. Early in 2017, UploadVR rebranded itself simply as Upload while reserving the "UploadVR" name for its media division overseen by former IGN editor-in-chief Tal Blevins.
In January 2017, Upload established new headquarters at the Marina Business Center in Marina del Rey, occupying roughly of office space intended for both company operations and coworking activities. By May of that year, the firm employed 17 full-time employees along with several contractors.
Plans to launch a $12 million venture fund under the name Upload Ventures were abandoned during 2017. That May, a former female employee initiated legal action against the company and its founders; this lawsuit was settled by September. The organization appointed Jacquelyn Ford Morie to spearhead educational programs and recruited Anne Ahola Ward as COO; Ward introduced mandatory anti-harassment training but exited within four months.
Reportedly receiving financial backing from Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey amounting to up to , Upload’s funding support ended by March 2018. Without additional capital injection, the company closed its coworking spaces and offices—leasing of San Francisco locations was transferred to new operators while staff at Marina del Rey were laid off. The UploadVR website persisted under UVR Media, LLC, established in March 2018 to maintain media operations.
Lawsuit
In May 2017, Elizabeth Scott, who previously served as Upload's director of digital and social media, initiated a civil lawsuit against the company and its founders, Freeman and Mason. The complaint alleged instances of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and unjust termination. It accused male staff members, including the founders, of creating a hostile environment for female employees and participating in inappropriate sexual conduct. Additionally, the lawsuit asserted that Upload maintained a specific "kink room" intended to facilitate sexual activities within the workplace. Upload refuted these claims, describing them as completely baseless. The dispute was resolved in September 2017 through a settlement involving a "modest sum." This legal matter garnered widespread media coverage, notably featuring on the front page of the New York Times, which led Freeman and Mason to issue a public apology. In response to the lawsuit, at least six employees resigned in support of Scott.
Accolades
In 2017, Freeman and Mason earned recognition in the media category on Forbes' "30 Under 30" list, highlighting their achievements as promising young entrepreneurs.