Hartford Business Journal

8 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 5, 2024 Infinite Reality partnered with technology communications company Vodafone to build multiple virtual reality immersive experiences. CONTRIBUTED IMAGE New Reality Creating 'immersive experiences' for companies and influencers, Norwalk's Infinite Reality set to go public it debuted in 2013, allows users to choose a venue and sponsor for a virtual concert, pick a musician, band or rapper to perform, and even select the virtual performer's outfits and concert's special effects. Users can then choose the set list, uploading music from their own collection, or buying it in the app. Forbes reported at the time that Acunto — who earlier in his career worked at IBM and Apple — had invested three years and $6 million of his own money into a company called 212 Decibels to develop Play Gig-It. That was supplemented by $20 million from angel investors. In an interview with Hartford Business Journal, Cross said the Play Gig-It app produced "the first video content ever posted to Facebook, and it went from zero to 36 million users in 41 days." He added that Play Gig-It's contract with Facebook included a rider allowing the social media giant to buy it, which Mark Zuckerberg and company did — for $150 million. Virtual Burning Man Fast-forward to about 10 years ago, when Cross met Acunto. Cross describes himself as a serial entrepreneur who has consulted with "some of the largest private equity firms in the world." He created the Founders' Roundtable, which now has more than 7,000 member CEOs, and it was through that organization that he met Acunto. They soon discovered they both were frustrated with social media platforms. "We got together and started talking about what was possible By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com E ven if you don't pay much attention to companies devel- oping or using technologies or virtual platforms for social media, e-commerce, gaming or music, you still likely know Facebook, Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery. A company called Infinite Reality? Maybe not. Which is interesting, because unlike those others, Infinite Reality, a developer of immersive virtual reality experiences, is based in Connecticut. While it employs 150 people in various places in the United States, it has 35 employees at its headquarters at 75 North Water St., in Norwalk. You may hear a lot more about Infinite Reality in the coming months, because the privately held company is preparing to go public. In December 2022, Infinite and Newbury Street Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), announced a definitive agreement to combine their busi- nesses, along with plans to issue common stock and be listed on the Nasdaq stock market. The transaction was expected to provide up to $128 million in proceeds and value the combined company at about $1.85 billion — with $1.7 billion of that attributable to Infinite Reality. Newbury Street and Infinite have since been granted extensions from shareholders and Nasdaq to complete their combination, which now has a deadline of Sept. 23. More recently, Infinite announced in July its $450 million acquisition of Landvault, a London-based company specializing in immersive technology and "digital twins" — virtual 3D models of physical objects — for commercial and government entities. That deal, as well as a $350 million minority investment from an undisclosed private multifamily office focused on global technology and media, boosted Infinite's overall valuation above $5 billion. With the public offering still pending, there's time to become familiar with Infinite Reality, which has already attracted some other, big-name investors, including members of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons and Rudy Gobert, the 7-foot-1 center for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Play Gig-It Infinite Reality describes itself as an "innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and e-commerce through artificial intelli- gence and immersive technologies." So-called immersive technology combines sight, sound and touch to allow users to more deeply interact with applications, content and experi- ences. Infinite Realty provides a plat- form for companies to create these experiences, whether for shopping online, playing games, or attending musical or sporting events, as well as to collect payments from users. According to Sean Cross, president of Infinite Reality Enter- tainment, a division within the Norwalk- based business, the company's origins date back nearly two decades to Facebook, a developer named John Acunto (who is Infinite Reality's co-founder and CEO) and an app called Play Gig-It. The app, described by Forbes as "Rock Band meets FarmVille" when AT A GLANCE Infinite Reality Industry: Digital media services Top Executive: John Acunto, Co-Founder & CEO HQ: 75 North Water St., Norwalk Employees: 150 Website: theinfinitereality.com Contact: community@theinfinitereality.com Sean Cross John Acunto

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