For the past few months, I’ve been having tea with a sister from church who founded ‘Ethicwaves’ at the POSCO Tower office on weekend mornings. I vividly remember her first visit, when she brought her business plan and passionately explained her startup’s purpose and vision. I recall being surprised to find my name listed among the advisory board members for collaboration, amidst the vast market analysis data, news articles, and documents containing her initial ideas.

Her project was a digital therapeutic using VR (virtual reality) content. While her noble intention to help people with depression or those needing healing was clear, honestly, a corner of my mind harbored greater concern. While her impressive credentials as a Seoul National University professor were admirable, I worried whether someone without product development or service operation experience could weather the turbulent waves of a startup. I was tempted to advise her, “Why not just focus on your current professorship?” Above all, the VR market situation was far from favorable. Years ago, Facebook (now Meta) had raised expectations by acquiring ‘Oculus,’ but the market had stagnated since. As I had experienced firsthand while working at a VR startup, the high content production costs combined with complex distribution channels and the limitations of device adoption presented insurmountable barriers for startups. The industry already widely regarded it as a past-its-prime field.

Yet, as we shared ideas over weekend conversations, the vague outline of our startup began to take shape, piece by piece, like a puzzle. Then, a surprising variable emerged: Apple’s announcement of the ‘Vision Pro’. The arrival of this innovative device is injecting new vitality into the stagnant VR/AR market. Just as the App Store ecosystem opened up after the iPhone launch, drawing developers worldwide to create a new world, a door of opportunity is now opening in the Mixed Reality market. Beyond concern, I now cheer on your journey with deep curiosity and anticipation, wondering what role ‘Ethicwaves’ will play within this massive wave.