Tech pioneer Tony Parisi wants VR to change the world

Tony Parisi helped pioneer virtual reality when he worked on the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), a tool for creating 3D environments on the web, with Mark Pesce back in 1994. Now he serves as head of AR/VR strategy at game engine maker Unity Technologies, and he talked today about his hopes and fears about VR in an opening talk at the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Association (SVVR) event in San Jose, California.

Parisi said he took a long break from VR until 2012, when he tried out the Oculus DK1 VR headset prototype. He felt it wasn’t ready yet, that is was too big and made him woozy. But he changed his mind when Facebook acquired Oculus for nearly $3 billion. And now he is “all-in” on VR.