AR creation platform ‘Trace’ secures $2M in pre-seed funding

Emerging from stealth with the $2 million closing of an oversubscribed round led by Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures, Trace, a spatial computing startup founded by former Magic Leap designers, enables the creation of high-fidelity, contextual experiences on augmented reality (AR) devices such as Apple Vision Pro. Its platform empowers creators to effortlessly construct location-based AR spaces. Everywhere Ventures, Ohio Innovation Fund, Portland Seed Fund, Allied Venture Partners, Service Provider Capital, Astir Ventures, Move VC, and Phoenix Venture Fund are also participants in the round, in addition to the co-leads. In addition to scout funds from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures, private investors in the XR industry were also present.

The Trace platform facilitates the development and deployment of immersive content across a variety of devices, including augmented reality (AR) eyewear, smartphones, and spatial computing hardware such as the Apple Vision Pro. Although not formally disclosed until now, the organisation has already provided power to numerous experiences, including Deutsche Telekom’s augmented reality presence at Mobile World Congress and enormous activations at flagship retail stores and worldwide renowned events such as the Hip Hop 50 Summit.

Several Fortune 500 companies, including Qualcomm, Telefónica, T-Mobile, and Lenovo, are among the early adopters of the Trace platform. These companies utilise the platform for a wide range of purposes, including brand activations, employee training, and new consumer product education.

Trace, established by a group of individuals with prior experience from Harvard, Disney, Samsung, Magic Leap, and DARPA, was motivated by the conviction that augmented reality (AR) content is most effective when it is tightly integrated with the user’s environment. Co-founders Greg Tran, Martin Smith, and Sean Couture constructed a robust platform that was user-friendly for individuals of all skill levels by integrating this principle with intuitive augmented reality (AR) creation tools.

The $2 million raised will facilitate Trace in supporting businesses and creators who are utilising the Apple Vision Pro and other augmented reality (AR) devices to engage with consumers, as well as expediting the development of its platform, which is presently in closed beta.

Greg Tran, former Creative Director and Principal Designer at Magic Leap and current CEO and co-founder of Trace mentioned that creating augmented reality (AR) content is typically a complex process that is beyond the means of non-experts and agencies.

Trace’s user-friendly development methodology means that augmented reality deployments, which previously required months to complete, can now be completed in a matter of seconds. Trace is capable of accomplishing for augmented reality what Canva and SquareSpace did for graphic design and websites, respectively.

Although hardware such as Apple Vision Pro is popularising spatial computing, a significant portion of contemporary augmented reality (AR) content is still detachable from its surroundings, a holdover from its days on 2D devices. Trace, an end-to-end platform that generates high-fidelity, immersive 3D brand experiences that can be deployed in any physical location in the world, was designed to propel the industry beyond this limitation.

Elmar Schrage, Deutsche Telekom’s Head of Business XR Development mentioned that the results of Deutsche Telekom’s mixed reality experience powered by Trace at Mobile World Congress 2023 could not have more impressed them more. Trace’s user-friendly, end-to-end methodology is distinctive and enables them to implement high-fidelity immersive experiences.