Upload (company)

Upload, Inc. (formerly UploadVR, Inc.) was an American virtual reality-focused technology and media company based in Marina del Rey, California. Founded in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, and Nick Ochoa, the company organized events and operated a media arm, as well as an incubator and co-working space known as Upload Collective. Originally operating out of San Francisco, the headquarters were relocated to Marina del Rey in January 2017. In May 2017, the company was sued over sexual harassment claims, with the lawsuit being settled in September 2017. Upload shut down in March 2018.

Upload, Inc.
Formerly
UploadVR, Inc. (2014–2017)
Private
IndustryVirtual reality
FateDissolved
Founded2014 (2014) in San Francisco, US
Founders
  • Taylor Freeman
  • Will Mason
  • Nick Ochoa
DefunctMarch 15, 2018 (2018-03-15)
Headquarters
Marina del Rey, California
,
US
Key people
Number of employees
17 (2017)

History

Early history (2014–2016)

Upload was founded as UploadVR in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, William "Will" Mason, and Nicholas "Nick" Ochoa in San Francisco.[1][2] Ochoa dropped out of the company early in its development.[3] Freeman and Mason acted as chief executive officer and president, respectively.[3] In December 2015, the company received US$1.25 million in seed funding from Shanda.[4] In January 2016, UploadVR announced the formation of Upload Collective, a incubation and co-working space.[5]

In January 2016, UploadVR announced the formation of Upload Collective, a incubation and co-working space that grew to host over 50 VR and AR startups where multiple events were hosted every week.[6] In 2016, Upload partnered with Udacity, Google, HTC and Unity to develop the VR Nanodegree.[7] They then partnered with Make School to create the UploadVR Academy, a 10-week boot camp for advanced developers to learn how to build desktop and mobile VR games using Unity.[8]

Expansion and closure (2016–2018)

In September 2016, a Series A round of funding led by Colopl raised $4.5 million for UploadVR.[9] Further investors included General Catalyst, NetEase, Sparkland Capital, Unity Ventures, CRCM, GREE, GC Tracker, Outpost Capital, David Chao, and Julia Popowitz.[9] Private investor Joe Kraus also contributed $25,000.[3] In early 2017, UploadVR rebranded as Upload, shifting the "UploadVR" branding to its media arm.[9] Tal Blevins, the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of IGN, was hired in January 2017 to head the editorial part of this arm.[1]

On January 15, 2017, Upload opened further offices in the Marina Business Center in Marina del Rey, California.[1] In the signing of the lease for 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) of office space, Upload was represented by Garrett Ellis and Carter Haslam of CBRE, with support by Jeff Pion and Shay Bolton, while Hankey Investment Company, the owner of the business center, was represented by Christopher Strickfaden of NGKF.[1] The offices were expected to be opened up as a co-working space and the company's new headquarters in April.[10] By May 2017, Upload had 17 full-time employees and several contractors.[9]

In 2017, Upload ceased plans to establish a venture fund named Upload Ventures, for which it had been raising $12 million.[11] In May, one of their female employees filed a case against the company and the founders which was later settled down in September 2017.[3] In June 2017, the company hired Jacquelyn Ford Morie to head up its education efforts, and appointed Anne Ahola Ward, the former chief executive officer of CircleClick, as chief operating officer.[11][12][3] She instituted a mandatory anti-harassment training at the company, composed of a two-hour session led by an external consultant.[3] However, Ward had left her position by October, less than four months following her appointment.[13] Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey stepped in to continue funding Upload, infusing as much as $2.5 million to keep it afloat.[14] By March 2018, Luckey had ceased financing the company and, because Upload failed to find further funding, Upload was shut down.[14] The lease for the San Francisco offices had already been taken over, while all staff were let go from the Marina del Rey headquarters on March 15.[14] The UploadVR trade publication was unaffected by this closure.[14]

Controversy

In May 2017, Elizabeth Scott, who had been the director of digital and social media at Upload between April 2016 and March 2017, filed a civil lawsuit against Upload, and founders Freeman and Mason over claims of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination.[15][16][17] The suit alleged that the male employees of the organisation, including the founders had created a work environment hostile against their female employees, and openly discussed their sexual arousal with the affected personnel.[15][16] It also stated that Upload had established a dedicated room, dubbed the "kink room", to encourage sexual intercourse at the workplace.[15][16] When contacted by media outlets, Upload stated that the claims were "entirely without merit".[15][16] The lawsuit was quietly settled in September 2017 for a "modest sum".[3][17][11] The lawsuit and its aftermath spawned a front-page article in The New York Times, prompting Freeman and Mason to release an open apology.[3][17] At least six employees left Upload in solidarity with Scott.[3]

Recognition

Freeman and Mason were named in the media category of Forbes' "30 Under 30" list of successful young entrepreneurs in 2017.[18]

References
  1. Miet, Hannah (February 1, 2017). "San Francisco's Upload Inc. signs 20K lease in Marina del Rey". The Real Deal.
  2. Johnson, Eric (July 14, 2015). "At Investor Event, VR Startups Brace for Slow Growth". Vox.
  3. Streitfeld, David (September 15, 2017). "Lurid Lawsuit's Quiet End Leaves Silicon Valley Start-Up Barely Dented". The New York Times.
  4. Takahashi, Dean (December 16, 2015). "UploadVR raises $1.25M in funding from China's Shanda Group". VentureBeat.
  5. Graham, Peter (January 8, 2016). "UploadVR Announces the Creation of Upload Collective". VRFocus.
  6. Dhillon, Sunny (October 24, 2016). "I Invest In VR Companies–Here's How To Get Hired By One". Fast Company. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  7. Peterson, Steve (June 7, 2016). "UploadVR Academy Is Kicking VR Content Creation Into High Gear". AList. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  8. Patel, Deep; Entrepreneur, ContributorSerial (June 21, 2016). "San Francisco Startup Lets Anyone Enter The World Of Virtual Reality". HuffPost. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  9. Matney, Lucas (May 16, 2017). "Upload VR startup raised $4.5 million Series A from Colopl, General Catalyst last year". TechCrunch.
  10. Pressberg, Matt (March 30, 2017). "Virtual Reality Firm Upload to Open LA Headquarters in April (Exclusive)". TheWrap.
  11. Matney, Lucas; Shieber, Jonathan (September 6, 2017). "VR company Upload settles sexual harassment suit, though some still feel unsettled". TechCrunch.
  12. Segall, Laurie (November 10, 2017). "Startup had a 'kink room.' Can it be reformed?". CNN Business.
  13. Matney, Lucas (October 16, 2017). "Upload exec tasked with turning things around at the troubled VR startup has already quit". TechCrunch.
  14. Matney, Lucas (March 16, 2018). "VR startup Upload shuts down its offices as funding from Palmer Luckey runs out". TechCrunch.
  15. Matney, Lucas (March 15, 2017). "UploadVR sued over 'rampant' sexual behavior in the workplace and wrongful termination". TechCrunch.
  16. Farivar, Cyrus (May 16, 2017). "UploadVR set up "kink room" at the office, says ex-employee in lawsuit". Ars Technica.
  17. O'Brien, Chris (September 18, 2017). "Upload founders apologize for 'turmoil' caused by their response to 'kink room' harassment lawsuit". VentureBeat.
  18. Inverso, Emily; Vinton, Kate; Berg, Madeline (2017). "30 Under 30 2017: Media – Taylor Freeman, 26, Will Mason, 26". Forbes.
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