Category: Augmentor

Posted on

10 UK Startups Complete Digital Catapult’s Augmentor Programme

Augmentor - Digital Catapult

Over the past four years, Digital Catapult’s Augmentor programme has helped numerous tech startups succeed in making their ideas a reality, like soft skills training platform BodySwaps and design tool Gravity Sketch. The latest programme has now concluded with new 10 companies worth keeping an eye on in the XR space.

Vika Books - Baby BSL
Image Credit: Jo Hounsome

For the 2020 initiative, Digital Catapult focused on a range of sectors within the industry, most notably architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), data visualisation, training and 3D design, production and tooling whilst also encouraging those working in AI or 5G. The 12-week programme is a great way for early startups to attract private investment and scaleup their plans quickly.

Those who were successful include Evidential which built VR training platform EVITA. Designed for major incidents, it equips police officers with essential soft and hard skills. The platform is Evidential’s second having created augmented reality (AR) app First Responder to improve the preservation of crime scenes.

Or then there’s Percept Imagery‘s AR platform Sprie which creates immersive shopping experiences for retailers and their customers. Ecommerce websites or social pages can use Sprie to make their products more accessible, thus allowing shoppers to see a digital product in the real world before buying it, great for household items for example.

Fracture Reality
Fracture Reality

“We’ve seen some amazing startups take part in Augmentor since the inception of the programme, and it was no different for this edition. The quality of the products and ideas was outstanding, and we’re thrilled to have played a role in helping to give these startups a boost towards investment readiness,” said Jessica Driscoll, Head of Immersive Technology at Digital Catapult in a statement. “Thanks also to our incredible investor partners and mentors who have been staunch advocates of the programme and instrumental in supporting these companies to bring them closer to becoming the next big thing.”

Take a look at all the successful startups from 2020 and previous years over on the Augmentor website. For further updates on the latest XR investments, keep reading VRFocus.

Posted on

Digital Catapult’s Augmentor Programme Reveals 10 new XR Startups

Augmentor - Digital Catapult

Now in its fourth year, during the summer Digital Catapult’s Augmentor programme announced an open call for UK-based XR startups. They’ve now been chosen, selecting 10 companies working across the immersive industry spectrum, from training platforms to augmented reality (AR) books.

Fracture Reality

They will now begin a 12-week programme to help grow their products and enhance their business model, meeting and learning from leading industry mentors and investors to attract more financing in a bid to scale.

The teams selected for the 2020 Augmentor programme are:

  • Emperia – “Is creating virtual reality experiences that boost sales and customer engagement for businesses in art and luxury fashion.”
  • Evidential – “Has produced EVITA, an incident training platform which provides large scale environments where multiple training scenarios can take place.”
  • Fracture Reality – “Developing an online mixed reality platform called Join specifically for engineering and data-intensive users that includes immersive 3D features like gestural sketching and avatars.”
  • MagicBeans – “It has developed Roundhead, a platform for creating and delivering six degrees of freedom spatial audio experiences at scale, so users can create, share and listen to spatial audio across multiple devices.”
  • MOONHUB – “Has created a high quality, immersive training product which uses virtual reality to convert e-learning solutions into interactive training scenarios to improve engagement in employee training.”
  • Overview Ark – “Created a tool for production designers and event coordinators to build 1:1 replicas of a live show without the need of programming knowledge.”
  • Percept Imagery – “Developed a unique augmented reality platform called Sprie that enables retailers to personalise online shopping experiences by allowing shoppers to try products in the real world before buying them.”
  • Retinize – “An award-winning content studio based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that specialises in the creation of cutting edge immersive VR content as well as interactive and geolocative AR applications.”
  • Slanted Theory – “Through the power of 3D technology (XR) and immersive analytics, Slanted Theory has created “Alaira”, a cloud data analysis and visualisation platform which provides views of data unparalleled in 2D dashboards.”
  • VIKA Books – “Using augmented reality to promote British Sign Language (BSL) as a language for deaf and hearing children alike.”
Vika Books - Baby BSL
Image Credit: Jo Hounsome

“At a time when access to entertainment venues is restricted, online shopping has soared, and remote collaboration for work is more important than ever before as many of us remain working from home for the foreseeable future, this year’s Augmentor cohort are providing innovative, commercially viable solutions to issues that are important to us all,” said Jessica Driscoll, Head of Technology – Immersive at Digital Catapult in a statement. “What’s more, because Augmentor has always been about bringing investors and industry along for the journey, the teams see tangible results, from business support all the way to investment. We’ll be watching the next three months very closely and look forward to seeing the results.” 

In the past three years, 27 companies have taken part in Digital Catapult’s initiative, helping them raise a combined total of over £6.7 million GBP. These have included Somewhere Else which developed soft skills training platform BodySwaps, so it’s always worth keeping an eye on participants for the next big thing. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

Posted on

Open Call Begins for Digital Catapult’s Augmentor Programme Looking for 10 XR Startups

Augmentor - Digital Catapult

In 2017, Digital Catapult announced its first Augmentor programme to help the UK’s immersive technology startups, through funding, access to hardware, mentorship and other avenues. The organisation has just announced an open call for 2020’s Augmentor, looking to find 10 companies developing innovative XR tech.

Resus.VR - Digital Catapult

Just as in previous programmes, it’ll be a 12-week accelerator to nurture the next generation of businesses. To be eligible to apply applicants must have minimum viable products or applications which are primarily developed using immersive technology.

While the Augmentor initiative covers startups working in any sector, for 2020 Digital Catapult will be focusing on companies working in: 

  • Architecture, engineering and construction
  • 3D design, production and tooling
  • Advanced manufacturing (e.g. robotics, automotive, aerospace, supply chain)
  • Data visualisation 
  • Training
  • Utilities sector
  • Creative industries  (e.g. entertainment, gaming, media)

Other startups also encouraged to apply are those utilising other technologies such as AI or 5G.

“Remote operation of machine processes, control devices in hazardous environments, rapid training on complex technical equipment, distributed virtual social media, the covid pandemic has prompted growing interest in virtual and augmented solutions. Augmentor attracts some of the most creative and inventive companies in the UK and Europe to get a boost to their product development and a positive steer on their business strategy from super smart and highly experienced mentors and investors,” said Jeremy Silver, CEO, Digital Catapult in a statement.

The Wild - Oculus Quest

“In these interesting, difficult times, the investment landscape is hard for immersive companies. Augmentor is a vital piece of the puzzle for the UK startup community,” Silver continues. “We’ve aligned the programme closely to industry needs, we’re helping forge deep and lasting connections with investors to help these small businesses reach their full potential.”

Digital Catapult has partnered with several big investment funds to help make Augmentor a reality, including Vive X, Remagine Ventures, MMC Ventures, Ascension Ventures and more. The accelerator programme will run the open call until 29th July 2020.

Since inception, Augmentor has helped 27 companies including Somewhere Else, which developed soft skills training platform BodySwaps and HoloMe, the team behind Asos’ ‘Virtual Catwalk’. For further updates on Augmentor including this year’s participants, keep reading VRFocus.

Posted on

Digital Catapult’s Augmentor Programme Returns to Help Early Stage VR/AR Companies

Digital Catapult, a UK-based digital technology innovation centre which runs initiatives like the CreativeXR programme with Arts Council England has announced the launch of a 12-week accelerator called Augmentor. Supporting early-stage immersive virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) companies, applications are now open.

Augmentor is a 12-week accelerator programme offering immersive companies technical and business mentorship, access to state-of-the-art facilities and regular check-ins with investors. Ten companies will be selected to take part, helping them fine-tune their technology and commercially viable business proposition ahead of pitching to investors at a showcase in January.

Successful applicants will receive masterclasses delivered by Digital Catapult as well as partners and mentors, including HTC Vive X, Edge Investments, Remagine Ventures, Station 12 and Mercia Technologies.

“Immersive technologies increasingly display massive untapped potential for business applications from product design to hazardous conditions training, across many different industrial sectors,” comments Jeremy Silver, CEO, Digital Catapult in a statement. “Unlocking this depends on early stage companies innovating in this space, finessing their propositions and securing investment. We have established Augmentor to provide the skills companies need to approach investors with greater confidence and clearly establish their product market fit.”

HTC Vive“Augmentor has been instrumental in supporting new and early-stage VR/AR startups in the UK,” comments Dave Haynes, Director of Vive X Europe. “It’s been a pleasure to mentor many of the companies, helping them prepare to meet their first investors. This led to HTC leading an investment in KageNova last year through our Vive X program.”

This will be the third Augmentor programme Digital Catapult has run, with previous successes including self-serve AR platform HoloMe and end-to-end reality capture and digital delivery platform, Reality Zero One. Up to now, participants have managed to secure over £3.1 million GBP of investment since taking part in the programme, thanks to Digital Catapult partnering with some of the world’s leading investment funds.

Applications are now open until 6th September at the official Augmentor website. VRFocus will continue its coverage of the Augmentor programme, reporting back with further updates.

Posted on

Digital Catapult Launches Augmentor VR Lab and Start-up Programme to Advance Early Stage VR, AR & MR Tech

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.

Visualise launches Norwegian 360 experience_1

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.