Voxelus, the virtual reality (VR) content creation platform and marketplace, has been able to carve a niche for itself in the VR and gaming space within a year.

It partnered with a cloud based financial services platform Uphold in October, 2015 to create and power its new in-game crypto-currency, the voxel (VOX). The following month, Voxelus announced that it has completed its private pre-sale of Voxels with 1.2 million VOX sold for a total of 1,022 BTC.

In March 2016, its “app store for VR content” marketplace went live, featuring completely free-to-play and free-to-download content through April 19. 

More recently, Voxelus announced that it will fund Voxel Foundation, in a bid to expand the use and adoption of Voxel. The foundation will be initially endowed with a grant of 5 million Voxels, with up to an additional 10 million Voxels in the forthcoming years to support its mission.

In an email response to EconoTimes, Martin Repetto, CEO of Voxelus, and Gavin Knight, Community Director of Voxel Foundation, told us more about the foundation, the features that being developed, future plans and more:

1. Voxelus recently announced that it will fund a Voxel Foundation to expand the use and adoption of its revolutionary in-game cryptocurrency, the Voxel. How did it all start? How was the need for such a platform identified?

Knight: Our goal is to empower developers, artists and hobbyists with their VR games and other gaming initiatives. The Voxel Foundation was started in the recognition that as the first in-game cryptocurrency for VR, it should not be restricted to the Voxelus software alone.  While the growth of content on Voxelus will certainly be the main force in growing the cryptocurrency in the next year, we see a day in the not too distant future when the Voxel will power dozens if not hundreds of games and worlds, since its user base and functionality will have been established on a global basis.

2. Founded last year, Voxelus is quite an innovative platform in the world of virtual reality. How would you describe your journey so far? Were you able to meet the targets that were set when you started off?

Repetto: The VR industry is growing and changing rapidly. We went from having 1 dev kit and no consumer grade products, to 3 consumer grade products and 4 more upcoming VR headsets in less than 18 months. This fast pace is great but it does come with hiccups for early adopters of the technology at both the consumer level and the development level, which is where Voxelus sits. The journey has been fantastic as I love to work on the forefront of innovation and VR though it comes with a few bumps in the road. VR so far has been a great learning experience and I believe that our product changes and new roadmaps are finally aligning with how VR is going to look in the next few years.

There are things that the industry has yet to resolve, like positional tracking on wireless devices or solid motion controllers for example. These features will dramatically change how we experience VR and products, and will cause those in the industry to adapt and adjust to the new features.

In terms of accomplishments, I believe we went above and beyond. We've created so many things for a VR product that I've only seen in AAA products such as Minecraft. In fact, Voxelus is similar to Minecraft but with the differentiator of allowing any type of content in the platform and also allowing anyone to make content. Voxelus is world building with the user dictating the aesthetic, plus a marketplace and a cryptocurrency. I am very proud of what the team did in less than 2 years and with the budget of a start up.

3. Voxelus recently provided a sneak peek at an upcoming Voxelus feature, building inside VR. Would you like to tell us about other features that are being developed?

Repetto: As VR matures, we see ourselves transitioning what users do on a web or a desktop app into the VR experience. Building in VR is the first step in making a complete VR experience for Voxelus. This also includes having the marketplace inside VR and the ability to transact with the voxel inside the VR world.

We are also working on supporting motion controllers and the new VR platform by Google, Daydream. More details will be announced in the near future.

4. What are your views on the rising popularity of Ethereum and the DAO crowdfunding drive that has broken all records?

Knight: Ethereum has been a big success for many existing advocates in the cryptocurrency space. There are fundamental ideals of economics, and moving the world forward that many of us hold. It seems foreign in comparison to how traditional business has worked, but giving back and fueling the overall mission forward is more important to many in the space, rather than holding on to their gains. This fuel is what drives the industry further. We've come to a point where we don't need outside investors, as believers have grown their wealth and continue to put funds back in to the next creation.

5. Besides Bitcoin and Ethereum, which cryptocurrencies do you think will sustain their growth in the next 5-10 years?

Knight: Coins that empower developers to create. The real value is what people build around the currency and with it. Our foundation is focused on developers, to build a strong foundation of people that build and create, through software and incentives. It's good to look for projects that have growing user bases, and not just unique use cases.

6. What other announcements can we expect this year?

Repetto: Look for a lot of partnership deals - both on the brand and entertainment property side for Voxelus, as well as other technology, gaming and VR platforms via the Voxel Foundation.

We thank Martin Repetto and Gavin Knight for giving us their precious time and sharing details about Voxelus and their future plans.