Appear XR, a Norwegian startup, has secured €880k (10.2 NOK) in pre-seed funding from a mix of international and Norwegian VCs and angels.
These include Sondo Capital as lead investor, plus Foundamental, Mana Industries, Neil Murray-The Nordic Web, Erlend Hausken and more. The funds will enable the company to expand its team and secure product development for the next 18 months.
Design collaboration suite that requires no coding
XR’s vision is to become the leading platform and universal design tool for augmented and mixed reality, building a powerful no-code, collaborative design suite that allows industry veterans and novices to conceptualise and prototype spatial experiences. The suite aims to make it as easy to design for XR as it is to design for apps and websites today.
The recent surge in AR hardware presents a unique chance to explore and develop groundbreaking applications. Still, the design tools to support this transition are failing to keep up, making it the most challenging part of working with AR and VR technologies, designing solid and intuitive user experiences. With Appear XR’s tools, the company aims to massively improve the workflow and enable joyful spatial experiences.
Appear XR was founded by Gregor Finger and Boris Kourtoukov, who saw the opportunity to kick off the startup while working at the tech-driven design agency Bakken & Bæck, as a spatial computing lead and creative technologist, respectively. Having worked with top global brands like BMW and IKEA, Gregor felt the need to improve the design process for a long time. The motivation grew to save time and money while designing and to create more joyful experiences. Boris has a comprehensive background in programming and interaction design across a range of agencies, startups, and government departments.
The recent funding secured by Appear XR will help revolutionise the product design process for both augmented and mixed reality. The company’s suite of tools will make it easier for designers and product teams to ideate, conceptualise and iterate on a single design, which can result in fragmented deliverables with little chance to keep iterating or quickly adjust. Appear XR’s platform has the potential to become a game-changer for the industry, and over the next year, the company will be working hard to bring its first product to life.
