Building a platform for augmented reality with Blippar (podcast)

We’re investigating the nature of these Innovation Engines in a series of What To Think podcasts, sponsored by Pivotal Tracker, and columns by VentureBeat editor at large Dylan Tweney. Tune in here to learn the secrets behind the tech world’s most successful platforms.

In this week’s episode, we sit down with Ambarish “Rish” Mitra, the CEO of Blippar, an augmented reality platform that dozens of brands are using to add interactivity to their products. Point the Blippar app at a logo and you can unlock virtual games, extra content, and the like. But Blippar is also working on AI technology that can identify ordinary objects in the real world, like chairs, dogs, birds, and more. Mitra tells us what it means to build an augmented reality platform, one that developers could use to add information and interactivity to the whole world around us.

Plus, Jordan Novet and I tell you what to think about:

• Virtual reality at GDC, including the $500 Sony PlayStation VR bundle,
• Amazon’s plans to incorporate Twitch into game design on its Lumberyard platform
• a cool demo of VR storytelling that really made Jordan think,
• and algorithmic timelines coming to Twitter and (soon) Instagram.

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