Trace, backed by $2 million in funding, has come out of stealth mode aiming to be the Canva equivalent in the field of augmented reality.
Trace a platform that provides creators with the tools to easily create augmented reality (AR) spaces based on location, has recently come out of stealth mode. They successfully closed a funding round that raised USD $2 million, which was oversubscribed. The funding round was led by Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures.
What is the function of the Trace platform?
Trace’s platform offers a variety of tools to effortlessly develop and launch immersive content on various devices including phones, AR glasses, and spatial computing hardware like the Apple Vision Pro.
Trace has the potential to achieve what Canva and SquareSpace did in the fields of graphic design and websites, respectively, but in the realm of augmented reality.
The company acknowledged that although hardware such as Apple Vision Pro is popularizing spatial computing, most of the current AR content still lacks integration with the surrounding environment due to its origins on 2D devices. Therefore, Trace has been developed to overcome this constraint and offer a comprehensive platform that enables the creation of immersive 3D brand experiences of superior quality. These experiences can be implemented in any location worldwide.
Greg Tran, CEO and co-founder of Trace, explained that creating AR content is usually difficult and only accessible to experts and agencies. However, Trace has developed a user-friendly approach that allows even beginners to create AR deployments in a matter of minutes. Tran compared the impact of Trace in the AR industry to what Canva did for graphic design and SquareSpace did for websites.
Who founded Trace?
Trace was created by a group of individuals who come from various professional backgrounds, including Magic Leap, Harvard, Disney, Samsung, and DARPA. The founders, Greg Tran, Martin Smith, and Sean Couture, strongly believe that augmented reality (AR) content is most effective when it seamlessly interacts with its physical environment. They have incorporated this belief into their platform, which also features intuitive AR creation tools designed to be user-friendly for individuals of all skill levels.
Which individuals or groups has Trace collaborated with up until now?
While not formally revealed until today, the company stated that it has already powered experiences ranging from the Hip Hop 50 Summit to massive activations at flagship retail stores and globally recognized events, including Deutsche Telekom’s AR presence at Mobile World Congress.
Some of the first clients of Trace are well-known companies in the Fortune 500 list, including Qualcomm, Telefónica, T-Mobile, and Lenovo. These companies are utilizing the Trace platform for various purposes such as brand promotions, training their employees, and educating new customers about their products.
“Deutsche Telekom used Trace to power a mixed reality experience at Mobile World Congress 2023, and the results couldn’t have impressed us more,” said Elmar Schrage, Head of Business XR Development at Deutsche Telekom. “The end-to-end, user-friendly approach offered by Trace is unique and lets us deploy high-fidelity immersive experiences. Trace is an ideal tool empowering our sales team to effectively present complex products or simply to ‘wow’ our customer in our flagship stores.”
Who were the investors in Trace?
Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures led the funding round, with other participants such as Everywhere Ventures, Ohio Innovation Fund, Portland Seed Fund, Allied Venture Partners, Service Provider Capital, Astir Ventures, Move VC, and Phoenix Venture Fund. Private investors in the XR industry and scout funds from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures also joined.
“Rev1 continues to support and invest in industry disruptors, and Trace is doing precisely that,” said Melinda Gloriosa of Rev1 Ventures. “We’ve invested early because we believe they’re poised to make waves in the augmented reality and spatial computing industry. We look forward to seeing how Trace transforms AR and revolutionizes our interaction with the world around us.”
What will be the utilization of Trace’s funding?
The USD $2 million raised will enable Trace to accelerate development of its platform (currently in closed beta) and support businesses and creators who are leveraging the Apple Vision Pro and other AR devices to reach consumers.
For more information on Trace and to join its waitlist to be among the first to built with the platform, please visit the company’s website.
