Walmart has acquired a virtual reality startup as part of its tech makeover

Walmart has acquired a small virtual reality shop, called Spatialand, to be the centerpiece of VR efforts that the company hopes will someday transform the shopping experience across the company’s different websites and stores.

Spatialand makes software tools that let creators transform existing content into immersive, virtual reality experiences. The startup worked with Walmart’s technology incubator, Store No. 8, on a project last year, and has now been acquired by that group.

The startup’s founder, Kim Cooper, and about 10 employees will join Walmart in the deal. Katie Finnegan, who has been overseeing the Store No. 8 incubator, will serve as interim CEO of the new virtual reality company.

The move comes as augmented reality, not virtual reality, has gained popularity as the next-generation technology most likely to reimagine at-home shopping. But in an interview, Finnegan said her group is focused on retail experiences that may not go mainstream for five to 10 years, and she believes virtual reality may fit into that bucket.

She declined to offer specifics on what the Spatialand team will be looking to create at Walmart, and said the team’s work may not be revealed for 12 to 18 months.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but it is believed to be a relatively small deal. Other Store No. 8 projects include a personal shopping service run by Rent the Runway founder Jenny Fleiss and an initiative to build a cashierless store like Amazon Go, run by Jet.com co-founder Mike Hanrahan.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via