MBD Group to invest Rs 50 cr to develop, expand VR portfolio

Publishing house MBD Group is lining up Rs 50 crore for the next five years towards development and expansion of its augmented and virtual realty educational content portfolio.

The MBD Group will provide low-cost branded VR devices to learners and plans to enter big-ticket markets of the US, the UK, Singapore and China as part of global expansion, a company release said.

"Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are the new frontiers of education and present an exciting opportunity for the sector," MBD Group MD Monica Malhotra Kandhari said.

"We will be investing upwards of Rs 50 crore in the next three to five years towards development and expansion of our AR and VR educational contents portfolio." Kandhari further said: "We will also be looking at the overseas market like the US, the UK, Singapore and China, where the market for such products has already been developed." MBD's 3D virtual reality simulations will be made available for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

Additionally, the group plans to deliver VR content for vocational / skill courses in the informal education sector as well.

Apart from the group's own VR device, MBD's VR content will be compatible with all other VR devices like Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift and the like for wider accessibility.

Meanwhile, MBD's augmented reality app 'Nytra', which was launched in 2014, provides content for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 of the formal education system. It has received 44,759 online downloads and offline, the figure stands at over 1,00,000 till date.