In-car VR startup Holoride files for insolvency
Munich-based startup Holoride wanted to bring virtual reality to cars. Now it has hit a roadblock.
CEO and co-founder Nils Wollny announced on Linkedin that Holoride has filed for insolvency.
"An investment round that appeared secure fell apart at the last minute. Despite the lead investor's conviction, the negotiated term sheet, finalized contracts, and scheduled notary appointment, the LP funds failed to arrive on time," writes Wollny. "We took a bold swing at the in-car entertainment market – and missed our first shot. We were early, imperfect, and made mistakes."
It is not clear what the future holds for the start-up. Wollny sees the insolvency process as an "a chance for a reset with new investors or owners" and speaks of a "period of restructuring".
An interesting idea for which it may be too early.
Holoride was founded in 2019 to bring VR entertainment into vehicles. The idea was to provide backseat passengers with VR experiences that dynamically adapt to car movements in real time. The idea was to turn cars into moving amusement parks.
In April 2021, Holoride announced a Series A investment round of 10 million euros. Previously, the company had attracted well-known advisors such as Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. The VR studio Schell Games became a partner and developed a VR game for Holoride. In November 2022, Holoride brought VR experiences to selected Audi models, and in January 2023, a retrofit package was released to make all cars Holoride-compatible.
Wollny is not entirely wrong when he says that the startup was early. Despite early market success, VR headsets are still nowhere near as ubiquitous as other mobile devices. The idea of wearing a VR headset in a car may take some getting used to for most people.
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