Varjo Technologies has announced a $31 million Series B investment led by Atomico, to bring a human-eye-resolution VR/XR product specifically aimed at industrial use to market, featuring simulation and training capabilities for industries including architecture, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, engineering and construction, and industrial design.
This latest investment brings total funds raised to date by the Helsinki-based startup to $46 million. Next47, the Siemens-backed global venture firm, is a new investor joining the round. Series A investors EQT Ventures and Lifeline Ventures also participated. The investment will be used to scale Varjo’s 80-strong hardware and software teams to more than 200 over the next 12 months and finance the global launch of the product.
The headset can be integrated with the world’s most popular 3D engines and software tools, the company said. Varjo is already collaborating with firms such as Airbus, Audi, Lilium, Saab, Sellen, Volkswagen and Volvo to optimise the device for their respective business sectors and needs.
Varjo will launch the device in the fourth quarter of 2018, with an AR/XR add-on to be made available in the first half of 2019. The current available prototype has an effective resolution of 50 megapixels per eye, the company added.
Analyst Comment
Varjo made very impressive progress in the short time between our meeting with them at MWC and AWE Expo. Varjo has provided one of our best three VR/AR experiences this year. (We Get a Chance to Look at Varjo’s Headset and Varjo Mixed Reality Demo is Impressive). The other two were the HTC Vive Pro at CES and then the StarVR headset at Siggraph (StarVR Headset is Immersive) (BR)
