Upload (company)

Last updated

Upload, Inc.
FormerlyUploadVR, Inc. (2014–2017)
Type Private
Industry Virtual reality
Founded2014;7 years ago (2014) in San Francisco, US
Founders
  • Taylor Freeman
  • Will Mason
  • Nick Ochoa
DefunctMarch 15, 2018 (2018-03-15)
Fate Dissolved
SuccessorUVR Media, LLC
Headquarters
Marina del Rey, California
,
US
Key people
Number of employees
17 (2017)

Upload, Inc. (formerly UploadVR, Inc.) was an American virtual reality-focused technology and media company based in Marina del Rey, California. Founded in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, and Nick Ochoa, the company organized events, operated a media arm, and provided an incubator and coworking space. Originally operating out of San Francisco, the headquarters were relocated to Marina del Rey in January 2017. In May 2017, the company was sued over alleged gender discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. The lawsuit was settled in September 2017. Upload subsequently hired chief operating officer Anne Ahola Ward, who instituted mandatory anti-harassment training before leaving the company in October that year. Lacking financing, Upload shut down in March 2018, while the UploadVR trade publication was transferred to a new company, UVR Media, LLC. [1]

Contents

History

Upload was founded as UploadVR in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, William "Will" Mason, and Nicholas "Nick" Ochoa in San Francisco. [2] [3] Ochoa dropped out of the company early in its development, [4] while Freeman and Mason acted as chief executive officer and president, respectively. [4] Later that year, Mason began writing about virtual reality via the company's website. Initial contributors for this trade publication included Ryan Damm, Matthew Terndrup, Tony Davidson, and Ian Hamilton. [5]

In December 2015, the company received US$1.25 million in seed funding from Shanda. [6] In January 2016, UploadVR announced the formation of Upload Collective, an incubation and coworking space. [7] The collective grew to host over startups where multiple events were hosted every week. [8] In 2016, Upload partnered with Udacity, Google, HTC and Unity to develop the VR Nanodegree. [9] They then partnered with Make School to create the UploadVR Academy, a 10-week boot camp for advanced developers to learn how to build desktop and mobile VR games using Unity. [10]

In September 2016, a Series A round of funding, led by Colopl, raised $4.5 million for UploadVR. [11] Further investors included General Catalyst, NetEase, Sparkland Capital, Unity Ventures, CRCM, GREE, GC Tracker, Outpost Capital, David Chao, and Julia Popowitz. [11] Private investor Joe Kraus also contributed $25,000. [4] In early 2017, UploadVR rebranded as Upload, shifting the "UploadVR" branding to its media arm. [11] Tal Blevins, the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of IGN, was hired in January 2017 to head the editorial part of this arm. [2]

In January 2017, Upload opened further offices in the Marina Business Center in Marina del Rey, California. [2] In the signing of the lease for 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) of office space, Upload was represented by Garrett Ellis and Carter Haslam of CBRE, with support by Jeff Pion and Shay Bolton, while Hankey Investment Company, the owner of the business center, was represented by Christopher Strickfaden of NGKF. [2] The offices were expected to be opened up as a further coworking space and the company's new headquarters in April. [12] By May 2017, Upload had 17 full-time employees and several contractors. [11]

In 2017, Upload ceased plans to establish a venture fund named Upload Ventures, for which it had been raising $12 million. [13] In May, one former female employee filed a lawsuit against the company, Freeman, and Mason. The case was settled in September that year. [4] In June 2017, the company hired Jacquelyn Ford Morie to head up its education efforts, and appointed Anne Ahola Ward, the former chief executive officer of CircleClick, as chief operating officer. [4] [13] [14] Ward instituted a mandatory anti-harassment training at the company, composed of a two-hour session led by an external consultant. [4] Ward left her position by October, less than four months after her appointment. [15] Oculus VR founder reportedly Palmer Luckey stepped in to continue funding Upload, infusing as much as $2.5 million to keep it afloat. [16] By March 2018, Luckey had ceased financing the company and, because the company had failed to acquire further funding, Upload was shut down. [16] The lease for the San Francisco offices had already been taken over, while all staff were let go from the Marina del Rey headquarters on March 15. [16] The properties were ultimately transferred to Starfish and The Riveter, respectively. [1] The UploadVR trade publication was unaffected by this closure; [16] it became operated by a new entity, UVR Media, LLC, which was incorporated in March 2018. [1] [17] [18]

Lawsuit

In May 2017, Elizabeth Scott, who had been the director of digital and social media at Upload between April 2016 and March 2017, filed a civil lawsuit against Upload, Freeman and Mason, alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. [19] [20] [21] The suit claimed that the male employees of the organization, including the founders, had created a work environment hostile against female employees, and openly discussed their sexual arousal with the affected personnel. [19] [20] It also stated that Upload had established a dedicated room, dubbed the "kink room", to encourage sexual intercourse at the workplace. [19] [20] When contacted by media outlets, Upload stated that the claims were "entirely without merit". [19] [20] The lawsuit was settled in September 2017 for a "modest sum". [4] [13] [21] The lawsuit and its aftermath spawned a front-page article in The New York Times , prompting Freeman and Mason to release an open apology. [4] [21] At least six employees left Upload in solidarity with Scott. [4]

Accolades

Freeman and Mason were named in the media category of Forbes 's "30 Under 30" list of successful young entrepreneurs in 2017. [22]

Related Research Articles

Uber American vehicle for hire, freight, food delivery, courier, and parcel delivery company

Uber Technologies, Inc., commonly known as Uber, is an American technology company. Its services include ride-hailing, food delivery, package delivery, couriers, freight transportation, and, through a partnership with Lime, electric bicycle and motorized scooter rental. The company is based in San Francisco and has operations in over 900 metropolitan areas worldwide. It is one of the largest firms in the gig economy.

Robert Scoble American blogger, technical evangelist, and author

Robert Scoble is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author. Scoble is best known for his blog, Scobleizer, which came to prominence during his tenure as a technology evangelist at Microsoft. He later worked for Fast Company as a video blogger, and then Rackspace and the Rackspace-sponsored community site Building 43 promoting breakthrough technology and startups.

ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland, and founded in 1999.

Danny Lange

Danny B. Lange is a Danish computer scientist who has worked on machine learning for IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Uber, and Unity Technologies.

Coworking

Coworking is an arrangement in which workers of different companies share an office space, allowing cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities, and receptionist and custodial services, and in some cases refreshments and parcel acceptance services. It is attractive to independent contractors, independent scientists, telecommuting larger work teams that want flexibility and to avoid wasted real estate space if some employees are working from home, and work-at-home professionals, and people who travel frequently. Additionally, coworking helps workers avoid the feeling of isolation they may experience while telecommuting, traveling, or working at home alone, and eliminate distractions. Most coworking spaces charge membership dues.

History of Facebook Aspect of history

Facebook is a social networking service launched as TheFacebook on February 4, 2004. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and college roommates and fellow Harvard University students, in particular Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and gradually most universities in the United States and Canada, corporations, and by September 2006, to everyone with a valid email address along with an age requirement of being 13 and older.

Unity Technologies American software developer

Unity Software Inc. is an American video game software development company based in San Francisco. It was founded in Denmark in 2004 as Over the Edge Entertainment (OTEE) and changed its name in 2007. Unity Technologies is best known for the development of Unity, a licensed game engine used to create video games and other applications.

Pinterest American photo sharing and saving website

Pinterest is an American image sharing and social media service designed to enable saving and discovery of information on the internet using images and, on a smaller scale, animated GIFs and videos, in the form of pinboards. The site was created by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp and had over 400 million monthly active users as of August 2020. It is operated by Pinterest, Inc., based in San Francisco.

Palmer Luckey American entrepreneur and founder of Oculus VR

Palmer Freeman Luckey is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality industry. In 2017, Luckey departed Oculus and founded defense contractor Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications. Luckey ranks number 22 on Forbes' 2016 list of America's richest entrepreneurs under 40.

WeWork is an American commercial real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces for technology startups and services for other enterprises. WeWork designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and office services for entrepreneurs and companies. Founded in 2010, it is headquartered in New York City. As of 2018, WeWork managed over four million square metres. WeWork's parent company was named The We Company, now WeWork.

The following is a timeline of the history of the photo messaging software Snapchat.

Comparison of virtual reality headsets Comparison of several notable VR headsets and VR headset types, including technical specifications

This is a list of virtual reality headsets, which are head-mounted displays used to present virtual reality environments.

Google Daydream Discontinued virtual reality platform by Google

Daydream is a discontinued virtual reality (VR) platform which was developed by Google, primarily for use with a headset into which a smartphone is inserted. It is available for select phones running the Android mobile operating system that meet the platform's software and hardware requirements. Daydream was announced at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2016, and the first headset, the Daydream View, was released on November 10, 2016. To use the platform, users place their phone into the back of a headset, run Daydream-compatible mobile apps, and view content through the viewer's lenses. A standalone headset with integrated hardware, the Lenovo Mirage Solo, does not require a phone to use.

Poly (website)

Poly is a website created by Google for users to browse, distribute, and download 3D objects. It is intended to allow creators to easily share and access 3D objects. It features a free library containing thousands of 3D objects for use in virtual reality and augmented reality applications. On December 2nd, 2020, it was announced that Poly would be shutting down on the 30th of June 2021, with the ability to upload 3D models to be suspended on the 30th of April 2021.

<i>Rec Room</i> (video game) 2016 virtual reality social game

Rec Room is a virtual reality, online video game with an integrated game creation system developed and published by Rec Room Inc. and can be played on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4/5, Oculus Quest 1/2, iOS 12.0 and up, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. It was released for Microsoft Windows in June 2016, PlayStation 4 in November 2017, Oculus Quest in May 2019, iOS in November 2019, and Xbox in December 2020.

Oculus Rift S Virtual reality head-mounted display

Oculus Rift S is a virtual reality headset co-developed by Lenovo Technologies and Oculus—a brand of Facebook Technologies.

The Riveter is a for-profit company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is focused on supporting women in the workplace. It engages in political advocacy, provides office and work space, hosts events, and publishes content. It was named after Rosie the Riveter, a symbol for women in the workplace during World War II.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Allen, Matt (November 16, 2020). "The UploadVR Lawsuit, Media Men List, and Tragic Unintended Impacts of #MeToo in Media and Tech". Disrupt Global. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Miet, Hannah (February 1, 2017). "San Francisco's Upload Inc. signs 20K lease in Marina del Rey". The Real Deal . Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Eric (July 14, 2015). "At Investor Event, VR Startups Brace for Slow Growth". Vox . Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Streitfeld, David (September 15, 2017). "Lurid Lawsuit's Quiet End Leaves Silicon Valley Start-Up Barely Dented". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ Bye, Kent (June 24, 2015). "#154: Will Mason on accelerating the growth of the VR Industry with UploadVR coverage & consumer-facing events". Voices of VR. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (December 16, 2015). "UploadVR raises $1.25M in funding from China's Shanda Group". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  7. ↑ Graham, Peter (January 8, 2016). "UploadVR Announces the Creation of Upload Collective". VRFocus. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ Dhillon, Sunny (October 24, 2016). "I Invest In VR Companies–Here's How To Get Hired By One". Fast Company . Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ Peterson, Steve (June 7, 2016). "UploadVR Academy Is Kicking VR Content Creation Into High Gear". AList. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ Patel, Deep (June 21, 2016). "San Francisco Startup Lets Anyone Enter The World Of Virtual Reality". HuffPost . Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Matney, Lucas (May 16, 2017). "Upload VR startup raised $4.5 million Series A from Colopl, General Catalyst last year". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ Pressberg, Matt (March 30, 2017). "Virtual Reality Firm Upload to Open LA Headquarters in April (Exclusive)". TheWrap . Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 Matney, Lucas; Shieber, Jonathan (September 6, 2017). "VR company Upload settles sexual harassment suit, though some still feel unsettled". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  14. ↑ Segall, Laurie (November 10, 2017). "Startup had a 'kink room.' Can it be reformed?". CNN Business . Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ Matney, Lucas (October 16, 2017). "Upload exec tasked with turning things around at the troubled VR startup has already quit". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Matney, Lucas (March 16, 2018). "VR startup Upload shuts down its offices as funding from Palmer Luckey runs out". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  17. ↑ "About Us". UploadVR. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "UVR MEDIA, LLC". OpenCorporates . Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Matney, Lucas (March 15, 2017). "UploadVR sued over 'rampant' sexual behavior in the workplace and wrongful termination". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Farivar, Cyrus (May 16, 2017). "UploadVR set up "kink room" at the office, says ex-employee in lawsuit". Ars Technica . Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 O'Brien, Chris (September 18, 2017). "Upload founders apologize for 'turmoil' caused by their response to 'kink room' harassment lawsuit". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  22. ↑ Inverso, Emily; Vinton, Kate; Berg, Madeline (2017). "30 Under 30 2017: Media – Taylor Freeman, 26, Will Mason, 26". Forbes . Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.