Sphere and Disguise Expand Technology Partnership
The Backstreet Boys during their “Into The Millennium” residency at Sphere Las Vegas.
© Photo: Courtesy of Sphere Entertainment Co.
(eap) US-based Sphere Entertainment Co. and Disguise, a global provider of visual technology for live events, location-based entertainment and virtual production, have announced a multi-year partnership to develop advanced technologies specifically for Sphere, the immersive entertainment venue in Las Vegas.
Since Sphere opened in 2023, Disguise has already been one of the venue’s key technology partners, supporting the delivery of multi-week live productions and corporate events. For these events, Sphere uses Disguise media servers and software to process and play back content in real time. Building on this collaboration, the two companies are now expanding their partnership to further develop technologies and workflows designed to accelerate video playback capabilities and prepare Sphere for the next phase of global growth.
“Sphere was built to redefine live entertainment, and continuing to push the boundaries of immersive experiences requires technology partners that share our ambition,” said Ryan Dolan, Executive Vice President, Head of Event & Interactive Technology at Sphere. “Every artist who has performed at Sphere has benefited from Disguise’s technology, and we’re looking forward to developing future iterations of immersive productions to support our long-term vision of offering these experiences to audiences in new Sphere venues around the world.”
“We’re honoured to have Sphere’s vote of confidence in our technology and are incredibly grateful for the relationship and all the development of the last three years,” added Fernando Küfer, CEO of Disguise. “We are excited to now focus on the expansion of Sphere’s video offerings around Disguise’s technology. What motivates us at Disguise is supporting the most incredible entertainment experiences in the world. When an artist imagines something the world has never seen, they should be able to reach for it and know the system can deliver. There’s no better partner than Sphere to build that future with and it’s a personal joy to work with a team and company like them.”
As part of the collaboration, Sphere will be the first partner to bring Disguise’s next-generation technology to market. The technologies developed through the partnership are intended to support Sphere’s further expansion. In addition to the existing venue in Las Vegas, two further Sphere venues have currently been announced: a new venue on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, scheduled for completion by the end of 2029 and designed to accommodate up to 20,000 people, as well as plans for a smaller Sphere with around 6,000 seats at National Harbor in Maryland, within the greater Washington, D.C. area. According to Sphere, the company is also in discussions with additional markets worldwide regarding further large- and smaller-scale Sphere venues. ■
