Virtuix pursuing "mini-IPO" for general public

Virtuix, the company behind the Omni VR treadmill, is pursuing a "mini IPO", made possible under the new JOBS Bill Title IV legislation. Previously, only those ratified by the SEC could become investors, an approval based on wealth and income which only qualified the richest two per cent or so of US citizens. Now, companies are free to engage anyone who wants to put their savings towards an investment, a proposition which FIG is already pursuing to great success.

To that end, Virtuix has been "testing the waters" with a preliminary enquiry via SeedInvest, where it has garnered $31.4 million worth of indicated interest in the idea form over 3200 potential investors. No money will change hands as a result of the preliminary campaign, but Virtuix understandably sees it as an expression of significant good will.

The Omni is an attempt to marry full body tracking and locomotive freedom with a VR solution that doesn't require users to have a football field sized living room. A stationary device taking up a little more room than a person, the $699 Omni allows users to run in place, turn and use body gestures to control a VR experience, enabling genres such as FPS to find a home in VR technology. Over 4000 units have been ordered already, from domestic users and commercial concerns such as malls and arcades.

The company has already raised $1.1m from a Kickstarter campaign and a further $8m in private investment. It hopes to raise a further £10-$15m from this Series A round.