£1million fundraise as metaverse training firm goes global

Newcastle-based Luminous, is aiming for global expansion, having secured a £1m fundraise.

It plans to use the money to create 10 new jobs and roll its technology out worldwide. This will include opening a third office in the Middle East, to support a growing client base in the region. It will also undertake a global marketing campaign and enhance its software to make it fully “self service.”

“While it is still early days for the ‘metaverse’, VR and XR technologies have matured significantly and the launch of Apple’s first mixed-reality headset next year is expected to boost awareness and drive global demand,” said CEO Ben Bennett.

The Luminous XR (extended reality) platform enables users to create training programmes and track students’ progress. Its key clients are energy companies and manufacturers, which can recreate real-life situations including hazardous environments in a safe and repeatable way.

The cash comes from the North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia Ventures.

“Current training techniques used in industry are expensive and outdated,” explained Chris McCourt of Mercia Ventures.

“Immersive training in a virtual environment could significantly improve performance but creating such programmes has been challenging until now. The Luminous XR platform is enabling much wider adoption. This latest investment will enable the company to scale its business and become a global leader in XR training.”

Mercia first invested in the firm in 2017 and this latest cash injection takes its total fundraise to over £1.9m.

Luminous recently won a major contract from an unnamed Middle East energy company and recently opened an international office in Bahrain.