• MixRift is an Irish MR gaming studio with Romanian founders
• Launched in 2023, the company has already released two acclaimed titles and raised EUR 1.6M
• The new investment will be used to hire more talent and accelerate the release of new titles

This August, the Romanian-Irish mixed reality startup MixRift successfully raised an impressive EUR 1.6M Pre-Seed round. The well-known Romanian VC fund Underline Ventures (invested in Videowise, among others) co-led the round alongside Outsized Ventures (invested in Molecule.One, for example), while other participants were SOSV and angel investors.

Tapping into the Emerging MR Space

This is the first round for the startup that was founded only in 2023. Previously, the co-founders had been working together for MavenHut in Dublin, Ireland, where MixRift’s CEO Bobby Voicu was also a CEO. The new startup’s CPO David Pripas is a Meta AR Partner and ex-creative director at Augmented Studios, and the CTO Andrei Vaduva used to be the lead engineer at Green Horse Games. Together, they set out to push the boundaries of seamless integration between physical and digital realms for immersive gameplay by reshaping players’ environments.

‘The immersion you experience in mixed reality is much better than anything you would get on a flat screen. Unfortunately, you can’t really explain this to someone, they need to see and feel for themselves. Just one example: there’s no player I’ve seen testing our game, Hell Horde, that doesn’t have a clear reaction of surprise when the first monster reaches them and ‘touches’ them, it’s just amazing,’ Mr Voicu tells ITKeyMedia.

MR’s Surefire Perspectives

The company creates immersive, accessible, and casual MR games that seamlessly integrate digital and physical worlds, catering to a broad audience. Leveraging innovative game mechanics, MixRift aims to lead the MR gaming space, capitalizing on the growing adoption of devices like Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro to enhance player engagement.

‘The mixed reality market is booming; you just have to look at the hardware available to your average consumer. The Meta Quest 3S is only USD 299 making the barrier to adoption really low – which is great for a company like MixRift,’ Mr Voicu firmly believes.

The market projections underscore this vision: the global MR market is forecast to reach USD 58.3B by 2030, with an impressive CAGR of 71.3%. In Mr Voicu’s opinion, this growth is largely driven by tech giants like Meta and Apple. For example, Meta has reportedly sold over 20 million Quest headsets, demonstrating that consumers are eager to embrace this technology when priced appropriately.

Impressive Fundraising from the Get-Go

Mr Voicu recalls how MixRift was kicking off its fundraising in January 2024 and the investment landscape for the gaming sector was far from ideal (and remains challenging). Despite this, the startup did raise quite a sizable investment, and feels both humbled and energized by such a whirlwind of an experience.

‘Mixed reality has immense potential, demonstrated by the likes of Meta and Apple committing heavily to the sector. MixRift’s founding team has deep knowledge and experience, positioning the company to take advantage of both the demand from players and the growing interest in MR,’ Outsized Ventures’ general partner at Lomax Ward states.

‘We had to say yes to such an experienced founding team that created successful games in the past. And we’re seeing mixed reality as a new medium, growing continuously, with less competition than traditional gaming and higher income per active player. They showed us original ideas and engaging demos that have now transformed into two games available in online stores,’ Underline Ventures’ general partner Bogdan Iordache adds.

Indeed, MixRift has launched two games this year: Fractured, available on both Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro, and the already mentioned Hell Horde, which is exclusive to Meta Quest. Following these successful launches, the gaming company declares plans of launching at least two more games in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. The new investment will allow MixRift to grow a team of 7-8 people who can create as many titles as possible in the next few years, to see what resonates with the audience.