Aiming to introduce its technology to the offshore wind industry, Irish virtual reality simulation company VRAI has raised €3.4 million in funding.
The fundraising round, which English venture capital firm Northstar Ventures led, will be used to expand VRAI’s current operations in the aerospace, defense, and security domains and target training in Europe’s growing renewable energy sector.
VRAI’s technology combines virtual reality with data collection, analysis, and machine learning to measure, evaluate, and predict human performance and enhance training results.
“This investment allows us to help scale the offshore wind workforce, which is critical to society’s plans for transitioning from fossil fuel dependency,” said Pat O’Connor, VRAI’s Managing Director.
VRAI products will also help ensure that military personnel receive the finest training and insights at a cheaper cost and with a lower carbon footprint to prepare them for increasingly complex operational environments.
The company anticipates that entering the new market will boost business growth and increase its workforce. Over the next 12 months, it plans to add up to 10 new jobs to the company’s offices in Ireland and the UK.
“The North East region has been instrumental in developing the offshore wind sector, delivering clean energy and green growth, and partnerships like the one between VRAI and local industry help ensure the UK stays at the forefront of global innovation in renewables,” said Northstar Ventures Investment Manager, Alex Buchan.
In July, VRAI revealed that it had collaborated with BAE Systems to create new training techniques for the military that would enable soldiers to participate in intricate group scenarios in a safe environment. In addition, the agreement will see the creation of a metaverse by the two companies, enabling air, land, sea, space, and cyber forces to train alongside each other in a single virtual world.
People can train in various scenarios and dangerous locations using simulation and virtual training, which reduces equipment wear and tear and exposes no one to the risks associated with those scenarios.
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