Aetho Thrive
Aetho’s telepresence platform, known as Thrive, creates a virtual space in which participants can converse and share documents. (Aetho Illustration)

A Seattle-based invention factory called Xinova has made a deal to collaborate with Aetho, a San Francisco-based venture, on new technologies in augmented reality and virtual reaility.

The agreement, announced today, sets the stage for Aetho to license intellectual property from Xinova in support of its push into AR and VR products.

Xinova was spun off from Intellectual Ventures last year. It’s a standalone company that focuses on the co-development of innovations  by a network of 10,000 inventors in more than 30 countries.

Some of the intellectual property managed by Xinova is critical to Aetho’s plans.

“Behind the scenes, we’ve worked tirelessly to push the limits of visual engagement,” Harrison Lee, Aetho’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement announcing the IP agreement. “We delved into 3-D imaging in our infancy, knowing full well the proliferation of AR/VR consumption devices would soon catch up.”

This year Aetho is due to release Thrive, a telepresence program designed for businesses to deliver mixed-reality experiences. Thrive lets participants converse naturally and share documents in a virtual space.

“The AR/VR space is a wide open playing field, ripe for mass market adoption, and we believe that Aetho has the power to change the ways that people interact in both business and leisure scenarios through the use of both AR and VR,” said DG Kim, Xinova’s chief financial officer and head of investments.

The deal with Aetho serves as the latest example of Xinova’s collaborations. Xinova’s other collaborators include Robotic Vision Technologies, Eden Research, Retrace, Coffee Flour, and Collins Woerman.

Read more: Invention network reinvents itself as Xinova

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