This German Startup Just Raised $1.3M to Fix Mixed Reality's Biggest Headache

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-29

Mixed reality hardware is finally ready for prime time. But there's a catch: creating the training content to run on it? That's still a nightmare. VUSE XR, a startup out of Freiburg, Germany, just raised $1.3 million (€1.2 million) in pre-seed funding to change that. The round was led by IACD, a Düsseldorf-based angel network, with additional backing from individual investors. And the timing couldn't be better. Enterprises are snapping up headsets like Meta Quest, but they're stuck when it comes to building custom training modules. That's where VUSE XR comes in. ### The Problem: Content Creation Is the Bottleneck You've got the hardware. You've got the use case. But creating mixed reality training content? That's been a costly, agency-led affair that's hard to scale. Companies either spend six figures on custom projects or skip mixed reality entirely. VUSE XR's platform, the VUSE XR Hub, flips that model on its head. Instead of hiring an agency, companies can now build, update, and distribute their own training content—across products and locations—using a standardized, AI-assisted workflow. The Hub converts existing CAD models, engineering data, and product documentation into photorealistic 3D models. Then, users arrange those models into interactive training sequences with drag-and-drop simplicity or AI-assisted tools. "Mixed reality hardware is advancing rapidly, but creating mixed reality training content remains the biggest barrier to broader enterprise adoption," says Niclas Matthias, co-founder and CEO of VUSE XR. "The VUSE XR Hub removes this bottleneck." ### From CAD to Training in Minutes Once the content is built, training can be delivered via web browser, mobile devices, or fully immersive XR headsets like Meta Quest. Results are tracked centrally, and content can be updated and redeployed across the organization at any time. That means a single training module can serve a factory floor in Detroit and a lab in Hamburg—without rebuilding from scratch. The company already counts some heavy hitters as customers: ZEISS, Hologic, Badenova, Scheidt & Bachmann, WITRON, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), and Sartorius. VUSE XR has also won the smartXautomation Award 2025, the AI Champions Award 2025 from Baden-Württemberg, and the pitch competition at Black Forest Space 2026. > "Effective training is critical to productivity, knowledge transfer, and the safe operation of increasingly complex products and processes. The technology developed by VUSE XR has the potential to fundamentally change how companies deliver training." — Andreas Goss, IACD member and former CEO of thyssenkrupp Steel ### What's Next for VUSE XR? Founded in November 2023 by cousins Niclas Matthias and Dr. Paul Matthias, the startup is wasting no time. Alongside the funding, VUSE XR is beefing up its commercial team with two senior hires: - Jan Hendrik Degner joins as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing experience from J.P. Morgan and CEWE Group. - Robert Günther takes the role of Vice President of Sales and Service Delivery, with prior stints at Meta and Unity. The pre-seed capital will be used to advance the VUSE XR Hub, expand AI-assisted creation capabilities, and accelerate commercial growth. "With this funding and our expanded commercial team, we are ready to build VUSE XR into the category leader," Matthias adds. For enterprises tired of the content creation bottleneck, VUSE XR offers a way to finally unlock the value of their mixed reality investments. And with $1.3 million in fresh capital, they're just getting started.