Holoride Secures €10 Million in Series A Funding

Holoride, the innovator in immersive in-vehicle XR media platforms, has announced the successful completion of a €10 million (roughly $12 million) Series A investment round. This funding has resulted in a company valuation of €30 million ($36 million).

Investment Details

The funding round was spearheaded by Terranet, a Swedish ADAS software firm, contributing €3.2 million (~$3.9 million). Additional investment came from a consortium of Chinese financial and automotive technology investors, facilitated by Jingjing Xu, alongside Schell Games, a game development company and previous holoride collaborator.

These new financial resources will be allocated towards expanding the holoride team, specifically seeking skilled developers and talent. This expansion is in preparation for the platform’s launch in key global markets, including Europe, the United States, and Asia, anticipated for summer 2022.

Focus on Content Creation

“This investment directly supports our commitment to empowering the content creator community,” stated Nils Wollny, CEO and founder of holoride, in an interview with TechCrunch. “We plan to release a suite of tools this summer to facilitate the creation of compelling content specifically designed for our in-car platform.”

The Holoride Experience

Holoride initially debuted at CES in 2019. TechCrunch’s initial testing of the in-car virtual reality system revealed a remarkable solution to the common issues of motion sickness associated with both vehicle travel and VR headset use.

Addressing Motion Sickness

The key to holoride’s success lies in its ability to synchronize the virtual experience within the headset with the actual movement of the vehicle. Upon launch, users will be able to access the holoride app on their smartphones or other personal VR devices, connecting wirelessly to the car to enhance their journey.

“Our technology operates on two core principles,” explained Wollny. “Firstly, a localization system utilizes data from the vehicle to achieve real-time synchronization. Secondly, our Elastic Software Development Kit allows content creators to develop ‘elastic content’ that dynamically adapts to travel time and route.”

Collaboration with Terranet

The partnership with Terranet will leverage their advanced sensor and software technologies. This will enable more precise environmental capture and interpretation, paving the way for even greater possibilities in the future.

Terranet’s VoxelFlow™ software, originally developed for ADAS applications, will significantly enhance holoride’s real-time in-vehicle XR entertainment capabilities. According to Terranet CEO Par-Olof Johannesson, VoxelFlow™ represents a new approach to computer vision and object identification.

It integrates sensors, event cameras, and a laser scanner into a vehicle’s windshield and headlights to accurately determine an object’s distance, direction, and speed.

Synergies and Future Outlook

Holoride, being manufacturer-agnostic, can utilize the data provided by VoxelFlow™ in real-time when operating within a vehicle equipped with Terranet’s software. Crucially, the ability to reuse 3D event data for XR applications will empower creators to develop highly interactive experiences.

Terranet also anticipates expanding the application of VoxelFlow™ into a new market segment. “We are eager to access holoride’s extensive pipeline,” Johannesson stated. “This collaboration is about broadening our market reach and engaging with the automotive industry, where development cycles are typically longer.”

Transforming the Passenger Experience

Holoride’s overarching goal is to redefine the passenger experience, transforming unproductive travel time into engaging activities spanning gaming, education, productivity, and mindfulness. A notable example is their 2019 Halloween collaboration with Ford and Universal Pictures, which immersed passengers in the world of the Bride of Frankenstein.

Wollny emphasized that holoride is continuously looking ahead, even before its initial product launch. He recognizes the growing importance of autonomous vehicles and aims to establish holoride as a fundamental component of the future automotive tech stack.

“Automakers traditionally prioritize the driver or buyer, often overlooking the passenger,” Wollny concluded. “Holoride is dedicated to the passenger experience, with the ambition of turning every vehicle into a mobile entertainment hub.”