XYZ REALITY SECURES £20M SERIES A FUNDING AS IT PREPARES FOR COMMERCIAL LAUNCH

Transformational Augmented Reality (AR) platform sets a new standard in construction. Uses holograms to deliver megaprojects across Europe.

• Innovative use of holograms on construction sites enables construction teams to view and build accurately from 3D design models.
• XYZ Reality’s technology has been used on projects totalling a value of over £1.5bn to date, across complex construction projects including data centres, pharmaceutical facilities and airports.
• Trailblazing construction technology eliminates errors made in the building process – a £10bn to £25bn per year problem in the UK alone.
• Major Series A investment from Octopus Ventures will fuel XYZ Reality’s global expansion, including to the USA, and accelerate continued development of their proprietary AR platform, HoloSite.  
• The funding round is being led by Octopus Ventures with participation from existing investors (Adara Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, Hoxton Ventures and J Coffey Construction) and sees new investment from Activum SG, Optimas Capital and Tishman Speyer. 

London, UK, 14 June 2021: XYZ Reality, the technology company behind HoloSite, today announced a £20m investment round led by Octopus Ventures. Founded in 2017, XYZ Reality plans to revolutionise the construction sector with its Engineering-Grade Augmented Reality (AR) solution, HoloSite. 

Designed to enable an on time and on budget delivery of construction projects, by eliminating building errors, HoloSite has been available to select customers through an early access programme and has already been used on projects totalling a value of over £1.5bn over the last 12 months.

With approximately 98% of construction megaprojects facing cost overruns or delays and 7-11% of project costs being spent on correcting errors, XYZ Reality’s purpose-built integrated AR solution directly addresses these issues. HoloSite, with its safety certified AR hardhat, cloud platform and in-built proprietary software, accurately positions high fidelity 3D design models on construction sites, enabling teams to build it right, first time. The technology system has been used on complex construction projects including data centres, pharmaceutical facilities and airports.     

This funding will be used to accelerate the company’s ambition of transforming mission critical construction projects by preparing for HoloSite’s commercial launch in the USA and continuing investment in strengthening research and development. The company is also growing its London team to include key hires across technology, manufacturing, sales and marketing.

David Mitchell, Founder and CEO of XYZ Reality shares his vision,

“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. 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. Our vision of developing world changing products aligns with Octopus Ventures’ mission of investing in companies that are powering the next industrial revolution. We look forward to building history.”

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. This includes WaveOptics, one of Octopus Ventures’ early investments in Augmented Reality, which was recently acquired by Snap Inc. 

Rebecca Hunt, early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures, comments 

“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. 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.”

XYZ Reality also announces a new partnership with global consultancy and construction firm, Mace, for the construction of a hyper-scale data centre 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, said “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/

ENDS

Notes to Editor

For further information, please contact:

XYZ Reality Transatlantic team [email protected]

About XYZ Reality

XYZ Reality is the company behind HoloSite, the world’s first Engineering-Grade Augmented Reality system. The company is on a mission to eliminate 2D in its entirety, empowering construction teams to Build it Right, First Time.

Purpose built for the construction sector, HoloSite enables site teams to view and position holograms of design models to millimetre accuracy. The AR hardhat solution is making a huge dent on the 98 percent of megaprojects that overrun globally. It has brought efficiency to the building process by eliminating errors, reducing rework and delivering on time.

The product has been used across complex mission critical projects in Europe, including data centres, pharmaceutical facilities and airports.

Founded in 2017 by Founder and CEO, David Mitchell, Co-founder and COO, Umar Ahmed and Technical Co-founder, Murray Hendriksen, XYZ Reality has been named the UK’s third hottest start-up and one of the Top 3 construction technology firms. 

www.xyzreality.com

About Octopus Ventures

At Octopus Ventures we invest in the people, the ideas and the industries that will help change the world. Our investment team is built to specialise in the five areas where we see the most potential for growth and innovation: health, fintech, deep tech, consumer and B2B software. Since 2008 we have backed the founding teams of more than 130 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, graze.com, tails.com, Swiftkey, Elvie, Depop, Sofar Sounds, Big Health, Bought By Many, ByMiles, OLIO and Cazoo, City Pantry, Simply Cook and HAS Technology. With £1.7 billion under management and investing over £200m a year, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe. We tend to invest from £1 million for Seed to £10 million for Series B and we can continue to fund the companies we back right through to IPO. We are based in London and New York with a network that spans from San Francisco to China. The companies we back become a part of this network, with access to a formidable resource of experience and expertise.Our investment focus:

• Health: Transforming the health industry, from digital therapeutics through to biotechnology.
• Fintech: Revolutionising society’s ability to exchange and allocate financial resources and risk.
• Deep Tech: The tools and technologies that will power the next industrial revolution. These include quantum computing, robotics and drones, sensory human augmentation and 3D printing.

• Consumer: Reinventing the everyday, in how we live, work, travel, play, rest and recuperate.
• B2B Software: Investing in companies driving digitalisation and automation across traditional and nascent industries.

Sources

* 7-11% of project costs spent on rework: https://www.cmaanet.org/sites/default/files/resource/Impact%20of%20Rework%20on%20Construction.pdf

*£10-£25bn per year problem: https://getitright.uk.com/reports/strategy-for-change

* 98% of megaprojects facing cost overruns:                                      https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/the-construction-productivity-imperative

Additional stats

Nine out of ten projects experience cost overrun: http://www.ijimt.org/vol8/717-MP0022.pdf

In three years studied, only 31% of all projects came within 10% of their budget: https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2015/04/global-construction-survey-2015.pdf