Within Sells AR Reading App Wonderscope to Amari Learning – CNET

Originally posted at CNET by Joan E. Solsman / September 29, 2022

Mixed-reality company Within said Thursday it has sold Wonderscope, its augmented-reality reading app for Apple devices, to Amari Learning. 

Both Wonderscope and Amari Learning’s technology listen to students reading aloud. With Wonderscope, reading out loud unlocks steps in an immersive AR story. With Amari, it’s a way for its technology to assess and assist in reading mastery. 

Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. 

One of Wonderscope’s stories, Clio’s Cosmic Quest, follows an animated space particle to her nebula. Within

Wonderscope was one of the first companies to tackle storytelling in AR, which overlays digital images on top of the real world around you. Its parent, Within, is the mixed-reality company that agreed to sell its VR fitness app, Supernatural, to Facebook-owner Meta earlier this year, only to have the Federal Trade Commission sue to block the deal. The FTC claimed the acquisition was an anticompetitive move in Meta’s plan for a “virtual reality empire,” which Meta has said isn’t credible. 

Amari Learning’s artificial intelligence helps assess students’ reading skills, personalize tutoring and screen for dyslexia risk. Its software is used by nearly 1 million students in more than 5,000 schools, the company said. 

Within co-founder and CEO Chris Milk called Wonderscope one of the company’s “proudest accomplishments.”

“We’re thrilled that Amira Learning is channeling Wonderscope’s potential by folding it into its own mission of facilitating learning in children through innovative technology,” he said in a statement.  

Amira Learning CEO Mark Angel said Wonderscope’s AR stories would “fit perfectly into Amira Learning’s cutting-edge AI tutoring,” which already includes a stable of interactive reading apps. The Wonderscope app and all six stories can currently be accessed for free on devices running on iOS 11 or newer: iPhone 6S or newer, 2017 iPad or newer, and iPad Pro.

Currently, Wonderscope is free app with a mix of free and paid AR stories available. 

Originally posted at CNET by Joan E. Solsman / September 29, 2022