Among its most recent ventures was at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, where in December 2024 Cosm helped convert the Texas museum’s decommissioned Omni IMAX theater into a 360-degree immersive dome, complete with 12,000 LED panels. This dome hosts all sorts of content, from Cosm-produced films to various educational programs for all ages; that same zoom-out-to-the-entire-universe feature I saw at my demo is a regular part of programming, for instance.
“It doesn’t just function as a regular screen. It can sort of be anything and do anything,” says Nikki Diller, VP of collections, interpretations, and programs for the museum. “People say the sky is the limit. I say the known universe is the limit, because that’s part of what our planetarium software can do.”
Like many other entities using the tech, the Fort Worth Museum is still figuring out the best ways to bring it to new audiences. The museum and various other Cosm partners have tried a number of approaches, from live orchestra performances to trivia and karaoke.
Cosm has also positioned itself as a central hub in the growing immersive entertainment space, one that some refer to broadly as “180 video”—a bit of a misnomer, as many of Cosm’s programs take up much more than 180 degrees in the field of view. Because Cosm has already done all the backend formatting, the platform can serve as a clearing house for content outside the giant dome setting.
Cosm can easily port its experiences over to VR, for instance. It can also provide ready-made content for smartphone-based “immersive” experiences where users move their devices around to engage with a 3D space.
Many of the NBA’s courtside VR game experiences, which place viewers right at court level with viewpoints on both baselines and at the center-court scorer’s table, are produced by Cosm. On the combat side, the company is involved with VR and phone-based experiences efforts for both UFC and WWE alike.
New immersive Cosm facilities in Atlanta and Detroit are set to open in 2026, the latter of which will contain betting-focused elements, due to the legality of sports gambling in Michigan. Terry says the company hopes to announce several other venues in the near future. Those who have worked with Cosm tend to be extremely optimistic about the company’s potential.
“I am bullish on Cosm,” Cohen tells me, before comparing the company’s potential to another unique in-person experience, TopGolf; the driving-range chain has over 100 locations around the world. “That’s at least how many Cosms there ought to be. These things have a much smaller footprint, they fit in more places. Any major city that has a certain number of people should have a Cosm.”
