Finnish VR company raises $31 million in funding

The Finnish company says that it will also be the world’s first VR / XR hardware and software product specifically aimed at industrial use. This latest investment brings total funds raised to date by the Helsinki-based startup to USD 46 million. Next47, the Siemens-backed global venture firm, is a new investor joining the round. Series A investors the EQT Ventures fund and Lifeline Ventures also participated, the company disclose in a press release. The Series B investment will be used to scale Varjo’s 80-strong hardware and software teams to more than 200 over the next 12 months, as well as adding finance the global launch and go-to-market of Varjo’s first product. The product will be an industrial-grade VR / XR headset that allows professionals, in sectors from aerospace to architecture, to work in human eye-resolution virtual or mixed reality when designing new products. “We hope that the impact of our hardware and software platform on industry will be as profound as the introduction of the Graphical User Interface,” says Varjo co-founder and CEO, Urho Konttori, in the release. “At Varjo we’re extremely proud to welcome Atomico, Europe’s most experienced VC, and industry icon Siemens, to our mission of launching a new era of immersive computing for professionals.” Varjo is already collaborating with firms such as Airbus, Audi, Lilium, Saab, Sellen, Volkswagen® and Volvo Cars to optimise the headset for their respective business sectors and needs. Varjo will launch its VR headset in late Q4, 2018, with an AR/XR add-on to the headset available in the first half of 2019.