XYZ Reality today announced a £20m investment round led by Octopus Ventures. Founded in 2017, XYZ Reality develops HoloSite, an Augmented Reality (AR) solution for construction sites. The company is on a mission to eliminate 2D in its entirety.
I’ve seen a live demo of HoloSite. Using its safety certified AR hardhat, it places accurately a real-time, 3D digital layer over a construction site, making it easy to spot any discrepancies between as-designed and as-built. It also enables visualization of the design on the site before it is actually built.
A technology like this will make the everyday of construction managers, installers, and inspectors easier. Eliminating errors and improving productivity will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the bottom line as well.
XYZ Reality’s technology has been used on projects totaling a value of over £1.5bn to date across complex construction projects including data centers, pharmaceutical facilities, and airports. I wrote earlier on AEC Business about how XYZ Reality received a UK government grant to develop the AR solution for the construction of UK hospitals.
Funding for R&D and market expansion
XYZ Reality will use the funding to prepare its commercial launch in the USA and to strengthen R&D. The company is also growing its London team to include key hires across technology, manufacturing, sales, and marketing.
“Today, we’ve developed the world’s first Engineering-Grade AR solution helping construction teams identify errors in real-time, but really that’s just the start of our journey,” says David Mitchell, Founder and CEO of XYZ Reality. “The next phase is Assisted Reality, where our spatial computing technology will have the intelligence to automatically detect and report issues in the field. And ultimately, the goal is builders building from holograms.”
The latest round of funding is led by Octopus Ventures, one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe, known for its commitment of investing in companies and founders that are changing the world. Octopus Ventures has a strong track record, spanning investment in health, fintech, consumer, B2B software, and deep tech.
“We’ve always invested in entrepreneurs leading industry change and XYZ is doing just that. It’s solving a massive problem that costs the construction industry billions every year, using its Engineering-Grade Augmented Reality solution to spearhead a shift in the sector’s approach,” Rebecca Hunt, early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures, comments. “The founding team of David, Umar, and Murray have deep domain and technical expertise, which we believe makes XYZ uniquely placed to drive this transformation.”
Partnering with Mace
XYZ Reality also announces a new partnership with global consultancy and construction firm, Mace, for the construction of a hyper-scale data center in Europe. With speed to market being particularly essential for mission-critical builds, HoloSite’s AR technology will have a significant role in supporting an accurate and time-effective build for Mace.
Mace Technical Director, Stephen Henley, says, “Mace has built a reputation of redefining the boundaries of ambition, always bringing efficiency, innovation, and responsibility to our projects. With the implementation of XYZ’s groundbreaking AR system, we continue to be committed to delivering projects faster, safer, and better than ever before.”
For more information go to https://www.xyzreality.com/
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