But Second Life never caught on in the massive way some thought it would. Second Life, his first virtual world, hosts a million users and a $6 billion economy.

“I think the general ideas are pretty straightforward and powerful-create a virtual place with the kind of richness and communication and interaction that we find in the real world, and then get us all in there!” Philip Rosedale. High Fidelity’s mantra goes, “If it doesn’t hurt to think about it, we’re not going to try it.” However, although some of the technical work “under the hood” hurts the brain, Rosedale told us anyone can appreciate the bigger picture. Search “high fidelity” and prepare yourself for a barrage of John Cusack. To date, the firm has largely kept itself out of the spotlight. High Fidelity was quietly launched earlier this year with funding from Second Life’s Linden Lab, Google Ventures, Kapor Capital, and True Ventures. And while Oculus develops a consumer-ready virtual reality headset, Second Life creator, Philip Rosedale, and his latest startup, High Fidelity, are hard at work constructing a next-generation global virtual world. Back here in a comparatively rosy 2013, we don’t have a fully immersive virtual experience-yet.īut virtual reality is undergoing a renaissance. In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, humanity escapes a gritty dystopia by donning VR goggles and entering a virtual world called OASIS.

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