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"We were a small team, just a handful of people, trying to solve problems that had stumped the industry for decades. Every day felt like we were building the future from scratch."
In this episode, Co-Founder of Oculus and Founder & CEO of Deep Origin, Michael Antonov, shares the inside story of how he and a small, driven team transformed virtual reality from a niche dream into a billion-dollar industry. 
From his early days at Scaleform to the rapid growth of Oculus, Michael recounts overcoming daunting technical and business challenges, the thrill of their record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, and the relentless innovation that led to Oculus’s $2 billion acquisition by Facebook. Listeners get a rare look at the mindset and decision-making behind one of tech’s most remarkable startup journeys, packed with lessons for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Key topics covered:

• The early days at Scaleform and the transition to founding Oculus: Game tools to VR visionaries
• Overcoming technical hurdles in VR hardware and software development: Solving tough VR challenges
• Launching and scaling through the Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign: Crowdfunding breakthrough
• Navigating rapid company growth and organizational challenges: Fast growth, big changes
• The acquisition process with Facebook and the future of virtual reality: $2B deal, new horizons

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Subscribe to the Podcast:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PSL162R2s0zOwU5913Zv4Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebiotechstartupspodcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 
Find our guest, Michael Antonov, at these links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelantonov/
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/deep-origin/ Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:Website: https://flow.page/kyojin 
Resources & Articles:The History of the Future by Blake Harris: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34017056-the-history-of-the-futureConsole Wars by Blake Harris: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18505802-console-warsAcquired Podcast: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-35-oculusVoices of VR Podcast: https://voicesofvr.com/745-the-history-of-the-future-book-on-oculus-role-in-the-modern-resurgence-of-vr/Oculus Rift Kickstarter Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:Deep Origin: https://deeporigin.com/Oculus (Meta Quest): https://www.meta.com/quest/Scaleform: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaleform_GFxValve: https://www.valvesoftware.com/
Brendan Iribe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendaniribe/John Carmack: https://x.com/id_aa_carmack?lang=enPalmer Luckey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/palmer-luckey-21a16959/Nate Mitchell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natemitchell/Gabe Newell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabe-newell-0721752bb/
Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:08 Moving to Orange County & Joining Autodesk04:23 The Oculus Origin Story: Meeting Palmer Luckey11:46 Early Prototypes and the Power of Kickstarter16:31 Fulfilling Orders and Building the Team20:06 Funding Realities and Internal Seed Round23:08 Technical Breakthroughs: Tracking and Blurriness28:33 Collaboration and Competition with Valve29:43 Deciding to Build vs. Buy VR Tech32:10 Raising Capital & Facebook’s Interest34:01 First Acquisition Offer from Facebook35:15 OutroThe Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.