From design and engineering to simulation and training, NordicNinja backs Varjo in Series C to accelerate international expansion
Helsinki, Finland – August 12, 2020 – Today, NordicNinja VC has made an investment in Varjo™, the leader in industrial-grade VR/XR hardware and software. In this round of Series C funding, NordicNinja VC, TESI (FI), and Swisscanto Invest (CH) are among the new investors contributing to the round, in addition to follow-on investment participation from existing investors including Lifeline Ventures (FI), Atomico (UK), EQT Ventures (SE) and Volvo Cars Tech Fund. The company also announced the appointment of Timo Toikkanen (previously president and COO of Varjo) as the new CEO. Co-founder and previous CEO, Niko Eiden, will continue to drive the company’s technological innovations as CXO and a board member. In addition, NordicNinja Managing Partner Rainer Sternfeld will join the Board of Directors of Varjo.
“We are seeing tremendous demand for virtual and mixed reality use cases, particularly as much of the world continues to work remotely,” said Timo Toikkanen, CEO of Varjo. “When you combine the photorealistic resolution and accurate, integrated eye tracking found in our devices with the broad software compatibility we offer, the possibilities for creating, training and running research in immersive environments are endless. With support from our growing group of investors, we look forward to scaling our operations and delivering the cutting-edge technology our customers need to transform the way they work.”
Varjo has gained widespread international interest, with the United States and Japan becoming the main markets. NordicNinja will support this expansion, as well as add its expertise in 3D modeling, data management, and developer ecosystems. “We are strong believers in Varjo’s potential, which has already established itself as a proven industry leader”, says Rainer Sternfeld, Managing Partner at NordicNinja VC. “Varjo’s spatial computing platform leapfrogs developers’ ability to design and simulate complex products, both in the physical as well as the virtual world. It blends together real and virtual worlds in a seamless workflow like you have never experienced before, giving creators boundless opportunities to express their creativity.” “On top of the fact that Japan is already one of Varjo’s key markets, we will contribute to this journey by grasping further growth opportunities through collaborations with more Japanese enterprises,” added by Shinichi Nikkuni, Managing Partner of Nordic Ninja VC.
With this latest infusion of capital, the company has raised a total of $100 million, which will allow Varjo to accelerate its global expansion and development of industry-leading hardware and software products. Varjo is the first and only company in the world to deliver human-eye resolution virtual and mixed reality devices to meet the most demanding enterprise applications across training and simulation, design and engineering and research. Already several global enterprises use the company’s XR-1 Developer Edition, VR-2 and VR-2 Pro devices to conduct immersive astronaut and pilot training, design the cars of the future, streamline product development, and more.
This round of funding comes on the heels of a year marked by company success and product innovation. Recent milestones include:
- Expansion of the company’s global operations and reseller network to over 40 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific with the launch of sales and direct shipping to key markets including Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
- Strong quarter-over-quarter customer growth with new customer acquisition of visionary enterprise companies including Boeing Starliner, Siemens, KIA, and Lockheed Martin.
- A commercial partnership with MeetinVR to deliver photorealistic virtual collaboration, a much-needed solution for users to be able to collaborate remotely with colleagues, customers and partners around the world in an immersive and realistic environment.
The launch of real-time chroma key and marker tracking functionality so XR-1 Developer Edition users can seamlessly blend real and virtual content.
