Bigscreen

What Bigscreen does

Bigscreen is a US-based virtual reality hardware and software company founded in 2013 by Darshan Shankar and headquartered in Walnut, California. The company designs, manufactures, and sells the Bigscreen Beyond line of premium PC VR headsets directly to enthusiast consumers. Its flagship product, the Bigscreen Beyond 2, weighs 107 grams — positioned by the company as the world's smallest VR headset — and integrates dual 1-inch micro-OLED displays (5120×2560 total resolution, 32 PPD, 500,000:1 contrast ratio), six generations of proprietary pancake optics, per-eye adjustable IPD (physical 53–70mm, optically accommodated 48–75mm), 116° diagonal FOV, and SteamVR-based 6DOF tracking. The Beyond 2e variant adds integrated eyetracking via a custom computer-vision pupil model running on AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, enabling dynamic foveated rendering and avatar expression tracking for social VR applications such as VRChat.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through direct-to-consumer hardware sales via the company's own Shopify storefront (store.bigscreenvr.com), with each headset custom-manufactured to a 3D face scan submitted via an iPhone app. Pricing ranges from $1,019 (Beyond 2) to $1,219 (Beyond 2e), with Affirm providing installment financing (0–36% APR) and an optional $129 Audio Strap accessory sold separately. The company serves four primary consumer use-case segments: sim racing, flight simulation, social VR (VRChat), and home theater/entertainment. Distribution is entirely DTC with no third-party retail; demand generation runs through YouTube influencer reviews (Thrillseeker, Boosted Media, Tested, Optimum), a Discord/Reddit community, tech press coverage (The Verge, Forbes, UploadVR, RoadToVR), and a 1.5% affiliate program.

The company has raised approximately $14M in disclosed venture funding across three rounds (most recently an $11M Series A in October 2017 led by True Ventures with participation from Andreessen Horowitz). It operates with 11–50 employees, ships globally to 40+ countries across the Americas, Europe, East Asia, West Asia, and Oceania, and has transitioned since 2023 from a software-only VR app publisher into a vertically integrated custom VR hardware manufacturer.

Name

Bigscreen

Legal name

Bigscreen, Inc.

Website

https://bigscreenvr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bigscreen designs and sells the Beyond 2 line of premium ultra-lightweight (107g) PC VR headsets direct-to-consumer via its own e-commerce store, serving enthusiast segments including sim racers, flight sim users, VRChat social VR participants, and home theater hobbyists globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Virtual Reality Headsets

NAICS

Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing (334310), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)

SIC

Household Audio & Video Equipment (3651)

akta.pro primary industry

VR/XR Hardware & Accessories (Headsets, Controllers, Trackers, Haptics) (MPAFAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

VR/AR Gaming Hardware (Headsets & Controllers) (HDACANAD), VR/AR Gaming Platforms (BPAMAKAG)

Keywords

• VR headsets
• PC VR gaming
• Pancake optics
• Micro-OLED displays
• Social VR experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling VR headsets (Beyond 2, Beyond 2e) directly to consumers through owned e-commerce store. Custom manufacturing with 3D face scanning required before production. Long lead times from order to delivery.
2. Accessories Sales: Revenue from complementary products including Audio Strap ($129), replacement cushions, straps, and other accessories sold through the same storefront.
3. Financing Partnership: Revenue enabled through Affirm financing partnerships offering 0-36% APR installment payment options, making higher-priced hardware accessible to more customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Bigscreen designs, manufactures, and sells the Beyond line of premium ultra-lightweight PC VR headsets (Beyond 2 and Beyond 2e), along with complementary accessories such as the Audio Strap and Bigscreen Remote Desktop streaming software. Each headset is custom-manufactured based on a sub-millimeter precision 3D face scan captured via the customer's iPhone, enabling a personalized facial interface and an industry-leading 107g form factor. The products target enthusiast PC VR users for gaming, simulation, social VR (VRChat), and home theater applications, sold exclusively through the company's own e-commerce store.

Product overview

Bigscreen is a VR company offering the Beyond line of premium PC VR headsets, software experiences, and accessories. The core product is Bigscreen Beyond 2 (starting at $1,019), the world's smallest VR headset at 107g with pancake optics and micro-OLED displays, along with the Beyond 2e variant ($1,219) featuring integrated eyetracking for dynamic foveated rendering and social VR expression tracking. Bigscreen also provides Bigscreen Remote Desktop software for streaming PC content to Meta Quest headsets, and the Beyond Audio Strap ($129) as an optional accessory for enhanced comfort and audio. All Beyond headsets require SteamVR base stations and work with the Steam/SteamVR platform for PC VR gaming and applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bigscreen Beyond 2 Flagship ultra-lightweight (107g) PC VR headset featuring custom pancake optics, dual 1-inch micro-OLED displays at 5120x2560 resolution, 116° FOV, per-eye adjustable IPD (53-70mm physical), 90Hz refresh rate, and SteamVR 6DOF tracking. Custom-manufactured to a 3D face scan of the buyer, eliminating light leakage. Starts at $1,019 USD and is targeted at premium PC VR enthusiasts for gaming, simulation, and social VR.
• Bigscreen Beyond 2e Variant of Beyond 2 with integrated eyetracking using the world's smallest eyetracking sensor suite (camera sensors the size of a grain of sand), with an AI/computer vision pupil model running on AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. Enables dynamic foveated rendering for improved performance and expression tracking for avatar gaze/body language in social VR. Starts at $1,219 USD.
• Bigscreen Remote Desktop Windows client application that streams a user's PC desktop to Meta Quest and Quest 2 VR headsets over a local network, enabling access to desktop applications and content from within VR. Supports hardware encoding via NVIDIA NVENC, AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin, and Intel Quick Sync for low-latency streaming.
• Bigscreen Beyond Audio Strap Optional accessory for Beyond 2 headsets priced at $129 USD, providing built-in on-ear headphones with high-end audio and powerful bass, a rigid halo-style head strap with adjustable dial for improved comfort, studio-grade microphones, and USB-C connectivity.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2-3x higher resolution compared to Meta Quest 2 (1920x1832 per eye) and Valve Index (1440x1600 per eye)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NZXTminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNZXT partnered with Bigscreen to recommend gaming PCs compatible with Beyond headset. NZXT Player: One recommended for casual VR gaming (Beat Saber, Bigscreen movie theater) with NVIDIA RTX 30 series. Player: Three with NVIDIA RTX 4090 recommended for demanding titles (Microsoft Flight Simulator, No Man's Sky, VRChat). Bigscreen receives referral traffic while NZXT gains VR hardware credibility.
• Valve (SteamVR)coreTechnology or IntegrationBeyond uses SteamVR tracking system for 6DOF headset and controller tracking. Compatible with all SteamVR base stations and controllers including Valve Index controllers. Works with SteamVR platform and all SteamVR games. Steam store hosts Bigscreen Beta VR application.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationBeyond Remote Desktop supports NVIDIA GPUs with NVENC hardware encoding for low-latency desktop streaming to VR. Beyond Utility and eyetracking run inference on NVIDIA GPUs. Link Box DisplayPort connects to NVIDIA graphics cards.
• AMDcoreTechnology or IntegrationBeyond Remote Desktop supports AMD GPUs with Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.8.1+ for hardware encoding. Eyetracking inference runs on AMD GPUs. Link Box DisplayPort connects to AMD graphics cards.
• Meta (Oculus)coreTechnology or IntegrationBeyond Remote Desktop streams PC desktop to Meta Quest headsets. Bigscreen application available on Oculus store. Supports Oculus Link and Air Link for Quest connectivity. Privacy data sharing with Oculus platform.
• VRChatcoreTechnology or IntegrationVRChat recommended as ideal social VR experience for Beyond. Eyetracking enables avatar eye expression. Full body tracking support with SteamVR trackers. Beyond 2 praised as ultimate VRChat headset by reviewers.
• VR Game Developers (Half-Life: Alyx, Beat Saber, etc.)coreTechnology or IntegrationBeyond compatible with all SteamVR games. Specific recommendations for Half-Life: Alyx, No Man's Sky, Beat Saber, Medal of Honor, Demeo, Bonelab, Hubris, Deadmatter, and other titles. High-resolution displays showcase game graphics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Meta Platforms (Reality Labs): Meta dominates the XR hardware market with 75.7% share via the Quest line. While Meta focuses on standalone mass-market headsets rather than premium PC VR, Bigscreen's Bigscreen Remote Desktop and Bigscreen VR app run on Quest, making Meta both competitor and distribution partner.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment: PlayStation VR2 is a tethered premium VR headset from a major consumer hardware incumbent. While Sony's ecosystem is PlayStation rather than PC, PSVR2 competes for the same premium VR consumer segment and validates the premium-tier headset market.
• Apple: Apple Vision Pro represents the high-end premium XR headset benchmark. While positioned for mixed reality/spatial computing rather than PC VR gaming, Apple competes for the same premium consumer dollar and validates the premium-tier strategy Bigscreen pursues.
• HP (Reverb): HP Reverb G2 is a Windows Mixed Reality / SteamVR-compatible PC VR headset sold by a major OEM. Represents the mainstream PC VR hardware alternative with broader retail availability than Bigscreen's direct-to-consumer model.

Others

• NZXT: NZXT is a gaming PC OEM that has an explicit partnership with Bigscreen to recommend Beyond-compatible gaming PCs. Not a competitor, but a downstream channel partner for converting high-end PC gaming customers into Beyond buyers.
• VRChat: VRChat is a flagship social VR platform and one of Beyond's most-marketed use cases (full body tracking, eyetracking expression). Not a hardware peer, but a content ecosystem Bigscreen's hardware is explicitly optimized for.

Direct peers

• HTC (Vive): HTC's Vive Pro line targets premium PC VR and enterprise users with high-resolution SteamVR-compatible headsets. Direct overlap with Bigscreen on the SteamVR tracking ecosystem and enthusiast PC VR positioning.
• Pimax: Pimax produces high-FOV PC VR headsets (Crystal, Pimax 8K X) targeting enthusiast PC VR users seeking premium visual fidelity. Like Bigscreen, Pimax focuses on specs (resolution, FOV) over mainstream pricing, serving the same enthusiast niche.
• Valve Corporation: Valve's SteamVR platform and Valve Index headset are the core ecosystem on which Bigscreen Beyond operates. Both target premium PC VR enthusiasts with high-FOV, high-fidelity hardware; Bigscreen's SteamVR tracking dependency makes Valve simultaneously its closest partner and most direct competitive comparable.

Emerging players

• Bigscreen VR (the software app itself): Bigscreen's own social VR/home theater application on Steam and Quest is the software companion to the Beyond hardware. Relevant as a comparable in the social VR / virtual desktop category where VRChat, Rec Room, and Meta Horizon Worlds operate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bigscreenvr
• YouTubeyoutube.com/bigscreenvr
• Facebookfacebook.com/bigscreenvr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bigscreen-vr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bigscreen