OmniVirt
AcquiredYC S12San Francisco, US · 15 employees · 4 known investors
OmniVirt operates an advertising platform that delivers immersive 360-degree video content to brands and publishers, accessible on smartphones, tablets, and websites without requiring app downloads or headset hardware. The company serves advertisers and publishers globally across mobile and web formats.
Also known as AdsOptimal · OmniVirt (Acquired) · Social Nation
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S12)
Investors · 4
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026OmniVirt is a 360-degree virtual reality advertising platform serving brands and publishers. Its core proposition is that audiences can view 360-degree content with a single tap on smartphones, tablets and websites, without installing an app or owning a VR headset. Ad units initially appear as conventional banner placements; tapping or clicking opens an explorable 360-degree video. The company states its formats are HTML5 and VAST compliant and that it specializes in mobile formats.
The platform was used by advertisers including GE and Infiniti, with placements running on The New York Times website and front page. Other publishers working with OmniVirt included Vice, AOL, The Wall Street Journal and Twitter. In addition to advertising, OmniVirt began supporting publishers in delivering 360-degree editorial content.
The company was formerly known as AdsOptimal and was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch. Brad Phaisan is listed as Founder/CEO; Michael Rucker, previously head of content strategy at YouTube, is described as co-founder and COO.
Founding story
OmniVirt's COO Michael Rucker, formerly head of content strategy at YouTube from 2009 to 2016, said he teamed up with CEO Brad Phaisan because he saw parallels between the state of VR advertising and the early days of TrueView ads on YouTube — a period of heavy experimentation and investment with unclear standards and little precedent.
Business model
OmniVirt operated an advertising network/platform sitting between brands and publishers: advertisers bought 360-degree ad placements and publishers monetized inventory through the network, which OmniVirt described as optimizing revenue for publishers. Beyond advertising, the company also began working with publishers to support 360-degree editorial content.
Advertising-based: the company ran an ad network serving 360-degree ad impressions for brands, with revenue optimization for participating publishers.
Traction
Y Combinator's listing cites a team size of 15 and states the network serves billions of ad impressions in more than 200 countries. By 2016 the platform was running campaigns for GE and Infiniti and working with publishers including The New York Times, Vice, AOL, The Wall Street Journal and Twitter.
Latest developments
A 2023 Medium interview with former COO Michael Rucker describes OmniVirt as having been acquired by Facebook in 2020; Rucker subsequently moved to work on Madison Square Garden's Sphere project. Y Combinator's company page lists OmniVirt's status as Acquired.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
OmniVirt described itself as a leading VR advertising platform for brands and publishers. Press coverage placed it among a small set of startups working on VR/360-degree advertising, alongside Immersv and VirtualSky, with its browser-based, no-app approach as its distinguishing feature.
OmniVirt's stated point of differentiation among 360-degree ad companies was delivering the 360-degree ad experience directly in the mobile browser, removing the need for a headset purchase or a separate app download — a barrier its COO argued limited even lower-cost approaches such as Google Cardboard apps.
Technology
HTML5 and VAST-compliant 360-degree video ad units that render in mobile and desktop browsers, expanding from a standard banner into an interactive 360-degree video on tap or click, with no app install or VR headset required.
Go-to-market
The company sold into large brands and premium publishers, running campaigns for advertisers such as GE and Infiniti on publisher properties including The New York Times, Vice, AOL, The Wall Street Journal and Twitter. It also offered public demo ads to showcase the format.
Brands and advertisers seeking distribution for 360-degree video content, and web and mobile publishers looking to monetize or host immersive content.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco. The company states its network serves ad impressions in more than 200 countries.
History
The company was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch and originally operated under the name AdsOptimal. It later repositioned as OmniVirt, a 360-degree/VR advertising platform, and by 2016 was running campaigns with major brands and publishers. Its status is listed as Acquired by Y Combinator, and a 2023 interview account states the company was acquired by Facebook in 2020.
Risks & controversies
Coverage noted that the VR advertising category faced unclear standards and a distribution problem — brands and publishers were investing in VR content but hitting a distribution barrier, and app downloads or headset requirements limited consumer adoption. The browser-based approach was also described as less immersive than a full VR experience.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsAccording to an interview-based account, OmniVirt, where Michael Rucker was owner and COO, was acquired by Facebook in 2020.
TechCrunch reported OmniVirt, previously known as AdsOptimal, had raised seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, SV Angel and Y Combinator.
GE ran a campaign using OmniVirt technology on the New York Times website; an OmniVirt-powered Infiniti ad also appeared on the NYT front page.
OmniVirt is listed in Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch, with status marked as Acquired.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- OmniVirt: OmniVirt is the leading VR Advertising platform for brands and… | Y Combinatorycombinator.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does OmniVirt do?
- OmniVirt is a 360-degree VR advertising platform letting brands and publishers serve immersive ads in browsers without apps or headsets.
- Who founded OmniVirt?
- OmniVirt was founded by Brad Phaisan.
- Who are OmniVirt's investors?
- OmniVirt's investors include Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, SV Angel.
- Where is OmniVirt headquartered?
- OmniVirt is headquartered in San Francisco, US.