Today Digital Catapult, an organisation aimed at growing the UK digital economy, and Seedcamp, a first round fund, have announced the launch of Augmentor, an equity free programme to support early stage businesses developing immersive technologies and applications.
Providing both technical and business mentorship from leading industry experts, the ten-week programme will advance virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) companies who are in the early part of development. Successful Augmentor applicants will be able to utilise Digital Catapult’s new state-of-the-art Immersive Lab at its centre in Kings Cross, London, as a space to work and collaborate in.
Dr Jeremy Silver, CEO Digital Catapult said in a statement: “Immersive technologies are fast becoming a central part of the digital economy and there is a real demand for access to expertise and equipment in this space. Our new lab will help to provide businesses with access to state-of-the-art immersive technologies under one roof, providing a vital opportunity for them to refine their ideas and test products across the range of equipment on the market today.
“The UK has a real opportunity to develop a world-leading industry around immersive technologies, building on our successes in the gaming and creative industries, but to do so we need to support the next wave of businesses that will lead the way in this field. Our Augmentor programme is designed to do just that. The potential for immersive technologies, particularly their application across industries such as digital manufacturing, digital health and care and the wider creative industries, is huge, and we plan to play a vital role in helping the UK realise this potential.”
Applications are open from now until 26th February. For further info and to apply head to the Augmentor website.
“Having invested in several immersive companies including Splash and TheWaveVR, we’re excited to be launching this initiative to develop a new wave of entrepreneurs solving problems with emerging technologies,” said Dave Haynes, from Seedcamp’s investment team. “We’re still on the frontier of what immersive tech can do and what founders need. And European founders will need an investment of both time, expertise and money to succeed. That’s how Seedcamp has been helping startups for years now. Augmentor is the first program in London looking to bridge that gap for companies working with VR and AR.”
For any further updates on the programme, keep reading VRFocus.