Virtuix Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VTIX) earlier this week announced the launch of Omni One for Quest, a development that significantly expands the reach of the company's virtual reality platform by making it compatible with Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets.
Speaking with Proactive, chief executive Jan Goetgeluk said the launch represented a major milestone for Virtuix and could act as a significant growth catalyst for the consumer side of the business.
Goetgeluk explained that Virtuix was founded around the concept of enabling natural movement inside virtual environments. The company's flagship Omni platform is an omnidirectional treadmill that allows users to walk, run, crouch and jump while navigating virtual worlds.
According to Goetgeluk, the new Omni One for Quest product follows Virtuix's inclusion in Meta's Made for Meta certification programme and enables direct compatibility with the widely adopted Quest ecosystem.
Proactive: Very welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. Joining me now is Jan Goetgeluk, CEO of Virtuix. Jan, it's great to see you again. How are you?
Jan Goetgeluk: Hey, good to see you again.
We've spoken many times about the applications for your product on the defence side, but this is really where the company started—in gaming. Remind everyone how Virtuix began and how the business evolved before we discuss today's news.
We started with the belief that virtual reality would become the next big thing. The question was how people could move naturally inside virtual worlds. I didn't want to sit in a chair or stand still using a joystick or keyboard. I wanted to walk naturally inside those environments.
That led to the idea of a treadmill that works in 360 degrees—an omnidirectional treadmill. That's now the core of our company. The Omni allows users to walk, run, crouch and jump in 360 degrees inside video games and other virtual reality applications.
Today's announcement centres on that VR treadmill and a collaboration with Meta. Tell us about the significance of the deal.
It's a big deal for us. Today we're launching Omni One for Quest. We had already announced that we were working with Meta and were part of the Made for Meta programme, which is a certified programme.
Now Omni One for Quest makes our product compatible with all Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets for the first time. Meta has sold more than 20 million Quest headsets and there are an estimated 6 million active users. Those users can now use Omni One directly with their existing headsets and games.
It expands our addressable market by an immediate 6 million users, which is very exciting for us and is a major catalyst for growth on the consumer side.
Ease of use is important. This is essentially plug-and-play?
Absolutely. If you have a Quest headset, it connects automatically to our Omni treadmill. We have a growing library of compatible games that work natively out of the box.
It's an incredible experience that we can now bring to the Meta ecosystem, which is the largest VR and XR user base in the world. Millions of users can now use our product directly with their existing hardware.
People who invest in VR equipment often want the most immersive experience possible. That's what you're offering here.
It's the next level of immersion. You can't get this experience any other way. As an added benefit, it's also good for your health because you're physically moving, running and jumping.
One user reported losing 40 pounds in four months using our product. Users can burn up to 700 calories per hour while playing action games on Omni One.
It's a highly immersive gaming system, but it's also beneficial from a fitness perspective. If you enjoy gaming and want to stay fit, this is a product for you.
Will you continue adding more games over time?
Absolutely. We launched with a strong lineup of games, and the Quest platform has hundreds or even thousands of titles. Over time, we aim to make as many games as possible directly compatible with Omni One for Quest.
We've already been reporting double-digit growth on the consumer side, and this launch will supercharge that growth and take the consumer business to the next level.
Congratulations on the launch of Omni One for Quest and thank you for joining us.
Thank you.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity