PICO Joins Blender Development Fund: The Next XR Content Boom?

PICO, the XR device maker, has officially joined the world-class 3DCG software Blender Development Fund as a top-tier Patron member! This is no small move — it signals a potential sea change in XR content creation. When a hardware giant in XR meets a free, open-source, and powerful 3D creation tool, what sparks will fly? This is undoubtedly a focal point that tech circles and creators should watch closely.

Blender: More Than Free — The "Magic Wand" of the 3D World

Even if you're not a professional 3D designer, you've likely heard of Blender. This open-source software covers practically every stage of 3D creation — from modeling and animation to rendering and VFX — and it's completely free. That's a godsend for countless creators. Thanks to its zero cost and powerful feature set, Blender has amassed a huge global user base and vibrant community. From pro studios to indie artists, creators can bring imagination to life with it. Notably, Blender integrated VR features back in June 2020, laying the groundwork for deeper ties with XR.

PICO: A Front-Runner in XR, Embracing the Open-Source Ideal

As a heavyweight in the XR space, PICO has grown rapidly in recent years, especially in the standalone VR market. Founded in 2015 and now part of ByteDance, PICO's Patron-level support for the Blender Development Fund is far from a simple sponsorship. PICO XR's partnership lead stated that the goal is to support the global Blender community and foster an ecosystem where artists and developers can express creativity freely. PICO's involvement will especially boost Blender's compatibility and advancement on the OpenXR standard — a move with far-reaching significance for the maturity of the XR content ecosystem.

Strong Alliance: Imagining the Future of XR and 3D Creation

This "handshake" between PICO and Blender will inject fresh momentum into XR content creation. Imagine deeply integrating XR hardware with an accessible, powerful 3D creation suite — what happens next?

On one hand, the barrier to XR content development could drop dramatically. More creators — even without large budgets — can leverage Blender's free advantage plus PICO's hardware platform to quickly jump into the XR content track. Expect more diverse and higher-quality XR apps and experiences.

On the other hand, PICO's support for OpenXR is a key piece of building an open XR ecosystem. OpenXR offers a unified API that lets developers write code once and run it across multiple XR hardware platforms. Collaboration between PICO and Blender on OpenXR will accelerate the standard's adoption, break platform silos, and make XR content creation and distribution more seamless and efficient.

Looking back at the Blender Development Fund, you'll find tech giants like Apple in the roster. PICO's entry not only underscores its ambition in XR, but also reflects its recognition of open-source values and deep insight into the future of 3D creation.

A Two-Way Journey of XR and Creativity

The PICO–Blender partnership is an inspiring "two-way journey" between XR hardware and 3D software. It's more than technical integration — it's a shared commitment to open source and an exploration of limitless possibilities in creative expression. With their joint efforts, XR content creation will become more accessible, vivid, and exciting. And this may only be the prologue to a new XR era.

Reference:
https://www.blender.org/press/pico-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/