Mixed reality companies should embrace a ‘yes, and’ strategy to competition

There is no theme more persistent and all-pervading in the tech world than that of the “challenger vs. incumbent” — a story we cherish because it strikes at the heart of central western motifs like the hero’s journey, the tale of the underdog, and David vs. Goliath. It doesn’t matter at what scale the story is staged as long as the underlying plot is framed right, and then we’re sold.

Lyft vs. Uber, Alibaba vs. Amazon, Hadean vs. Improbable, or Unreal Engine vs. Unity, the battle of the binaries is always compelling, and the convergence of emerging technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and mixed reality only make things that much more interesting as each incumbent stands always just a few disruptive events away from having the ground beneath them crumble.