ARHT Media — the Cool Holographic Projection Company — Files for Bankruptcy; So Sad…
ARHT Media had, and still has, remarkable technology — with a patent to match. However, having cutting-edge tech doesn’t always guarantee a successful business model. In fact, had their holographic projection technology debuted two or three years later, it might have seen more success than it has so far.
The official launch of ARHT’s technology came during the pandemic in 2020, although they had been discussing it for about six years. When they launched in 2014, the concept was that prominent speakers could present to an audience anywhere without having to travel, appearing life-size in real time. However, the reality is that people often prefer to see celebrities in person. When the pandemic hit, ARHT promoted the technology as a way for C-suite executives to present remotely without leaving their offices, especially given the travel difficulties at the time.
The pandemic ended.
ARHT Media then promoted its hologram-like boxes, called HoloPods, for uses such as virtual concierges, retail engagement, amplified fan experiences, virtual healthcare support, and life-sized virtual educators. However, the cost was prohibitive.
I even used the technology to present live from Dallas, Texas, to an audience worldwide once. The live audience said my holographic image was too dim to view comfortably, and the remote audience preferred my Zoom and LAVNCH presentations.
Oh well.
They even announced adoption by WeWork to place the HoloPods in most of its co-working spaces in 2021. A company insider told me they were barely used.
ARHT Media is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and its stock closed at 0.015 cents per share on Monday, Sept. 30, down from a one-year high of 0.08 and a five-year high of 0.48 cents per share in July 2020. When the company debuted in 2014, its stock rose as high as $5.25 in November 2014. But as I said, great tech doesn’t always make for a good business model.
David Nussbaum, Founder and CEO of Proto Inc., competitor to ARHT Media said: “I wish the ARHT Media team all the best in their future endeavors, and I’m confident they will continue to achieve great things. While we still face competition from companies like Google Starline and Cisco Webex, ARHT Media made valuable contributions to the hologram space with their work over the years, and they were a worthy competitor.”
In my experience, any innovative tech needs a competitor to draw attention and validate its potential. Now, with Proto being the only holographic game in town, I wonder if this will help or hurt them. Consumers are often leery of a company or technology with no alternative. And I do feel bad for the team at ARHT Media, who worked on this and believed in it—they were cool people, like the team at Proto, innovative.
I love this tech and how it advances the concept of a virtual presenter being nearly as effective as being in-person. Maybe it’s because of that scene from Star Wars: A New Hope, where Princess Leia sends a message to Obi-Wan Kenobi via holographic projection. That movie paved my path into tech in the first place.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who believes this technology is coming, sooner rather than later, to businesses and schools globally. But I fear “later” might be too far, far away.