Why We Invested in Jigspace

We’re pleased to announce that we have backed Zac Duff, Numa Bertron and the JigSpace team’s US$4.5 million Series A raise alongside Breakthrough Victoria, Rampersand and Investible to pioneer the business usage of augmented reality.

The Evolution of Computing Towards Realism

Throughout the history of computing, one of the key driving forces has been the pursuit of ever-increasing levels of realism. In the early days, the graphics processing capabilities of computers were extremely limited. Games and applications first used only black-and-white text, and later simple shapes and colours to represent objects and characters. However, as processors and other enabling technologies advanced (Nvidia’s first GeForce GPU was introduced in 1999), developers were able to create graphics that started resembling the real world.

Today, most data and content we interact with remain confined to two dimensions, primarily images and videos. However, our physical world is comprised of three spatial dimensions. We believe that spatial computing will be the next frontier for computing, bringing additional depth and immersion to data and content. When coupled with artificial intelligence, it is expected to have substantial implications across many industries. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a 3D model is surely worth a thousand pictures.

Understanding Spatial Computing and Why Now

It is critical to note that spatial computing is not a mere rebranding of the metaverse. Where metaverse maximalists were painting a future picture of interconnected virtual worlds for everything, spatial computing remains firmly rooted in enabling applications today. We have a high degree of conviction that spatial computing can become the next major computing platform after smartphones.

We currently observe two distinct levels of maturity in spatial computing, depending on the technologies and applications under consideration.

Firstly, spatial computing can be viewed as immersive human experiences where XR devices provide a window into the digital world that overlays the physical. From this perspective, spatial computing is still in a stage of innovators/early adopters with pioneering products like Apple Vision Pro and Xreal providing a glimpse into what this future might look like.

The concept of dominant design is critical for understanding industry evolution and how the industry might play out. Typically, prior to the emergence of a dominant design in an industry, a diverse range of product variants exist. In the early days of the mobile phone, hundreds of mobile phone designs existed and competed – some were square, some round, some foldable, some not. However, after the iPhone was introduced in2007, phone designs started converging, to the extent that nowadays it’s impossible to distinguish one brand from another. A dominant design had emerged, which along with operating system standardisation and app stores created a foundation for further innovation in software and applications.

Although virtual reality (VR) devices like MetaOculus and HTC Vive already exist, their applications are limited to use cases such as gaming and product design. We believe augmented reality (AR) devices are the key to unlocking widespread adoption. While significant hurdles persist(e.g., cost, miniaturisation, lens production) before consumer-grade devices can be adopted at scale, the launch of the Apple Vision Pro was a giant leap towards meeting enterprise requirements.

Secondly, spatial computing can be thought of broadly as applications and infrastructure that utilise 3D data, localisation technologies, and time series data. From this perspective, we believe spatial computing is ripe for investment, and we are seeing a large and increasing number of use cases being deployed right now. While challenges, such as 3Dstack standardisation exist, we believe these are solvable in the short term through engineering work.

Progress in internet connectivity, cloud, edge computing, AI, and machine learning are all necessities to deliver the 3Dexperience layer of the internet. With 5G connectivity, accelerating AI/ML sophistication, and cloud maturity, XR and spatial computing have finally crossed the chasm. The Apple Vision Pro (AVP) is a landmark breakthrough that demonstrates this. AVP weaves together Apple’s software, content, and hardware ecosystem in a way that feels accessible and functional for a much larger audience of users. Most importantly, it introduced a revolutionary spatial computing operating platform (VisionOS) with a robust developer kit that we expect to catalyse a wave of applications and enterprise adoption.

Sales for the AVP is on track to surpass 400korders (US$1.6 billion) this year. While the initial price point is a barrier to mass-market adoption, corporates have recognised the immense value of spatial computing in enhancing productivity, creating unique customer experiences, and gaining a competitive edge in the market.

The Role of JigSpace in the Spatial Computing Revolution

Engineering drawings have always served two purposes. On one hand, they are a reference experienced craftspeople use to build or construct what was portrayed. The other function was for presentation to the designer’s patrons/customers. Until the late 20th century, knowledge sharing was predominantly facilitated using 2D presentations and sketches. It wasn’t until the Internet and the invention of portable document formats (.pdf)by Adobe when files could easily be shared online.

Since the 1960s, computer-aided design (CAD) files have been produced to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, and optimisation of a design in 3D. It underpins commercial products for leading companies such as Autodesk, Unity, Dassault Systèmes, and more. CAD files are large and require high-end workstations (which are large) and networks to be viewed, which prohibits portability and the ability to work with 3D model presentations on the move. They’re inaccessible, which is a big reason why 3Dhas struggled to be massively adopted outside of a handful of specialised fields (e.g., AEC, manufacturing, entertainment & media).

JigSpace aims to solve the 3D presentation problem by becoming a comprehensive technology platform that seamlessly enables the creation, sharing, and viewing of 3D presentations, known as Jigs, across any platform (desktop, mobile, or head-mounted device).

Without Jigs, sharing a CAD file in a presentable/consumable form is painful. Manufacturing companies all have CAD files, which are not designed for easy sharing or viewing on consumer devices. Without the Jig Pipeline, an invisible autonomous queue system to users, a 3D professional would need to manually optimise these files or create a new mobile-friendly 3D model from scratch. This process takes days or weeks and is a showstopper for any project. Jig gives this 3D data anew life, enabling it to run on any device without any extra work, and allowing non-technical employees to just drag and drop a file, and start creating immediately from anywhere without waiting on the help of costly 3D expertise.

By democratising immersive and interactive presentations to non-technical people, JigSpace aims to become an integral element in the communication and transfer of knowledge. A market-creating solution, JigSpace is an early mover in pushing commercial utility with spatial computing. They have built the platform for sharing interactive 3D presentations with simplicity and accessibility, earning it the label: the “Canva for 3D.” From sales brochures, demonstrations, instructions, and training for the assembly and use of products and hardware, JigSpace is making 3D knowledge sharing accessible to everyone.

When it comes to 3D knowledge sharing in complex domains, we do not believe any competitor to date has an equal user experience that enables non-technical users to utilise 3D presentations across all stages of a product lifecycle like JigSpace. JigSpace has developed proprietary IP around compression and formatting, which means presentations can be designed and viewed on any device and any operating system (iPhone, Android, Tablets, Web, VR headsets, etc.). They continued to enhance usability by incorporating AI (JigSpark) and accessibility (Jig SmartLink). We believe JigSpace has the most comprehensive product in the market today.

While it took time for the market to understand just how powerful JigSpace could be, it’s exciting that the best companies in the world now see what we’ve been seeing for a while. With a raft of Fortune500 companies using the platform to build more compelling 3D presentations for marketing, sales, and service, there is mounting evidence AR applications are moving beyond the hype cycle into high-value business efficiency tooling. As the world’s most popular AR application, JigSpace is well on its way to defining this category and we’re excited to be part of the journey.

‍