"With our technology, you’ll be able to capture your surroundings in 3D and then invite somebody else to join that same exact reality"
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Summary sheet
Release date
3 December 2021
Status
Reference
Signed | 03/11/2021
20210232
Project name
Promoter - financial intermediary
VARJO (EGF VD)
VARJO TECHNOLOGIES OY
Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
Total cost (Approximate amount)
EUR 20 million
EUR 47 million
Description
Objectives
Varjo is a Finnish company founded in 2016, that develops human-eye resolution virtual and mixed reality headsets. Varjo's products are specifically designed to meet high demanding enterprise use cases in various areas including training and simulation, design and engineering, research and medical.
The project aims to help Varjo mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly by supporting the company's investments in research, development and innovation to execute on and scale up its growth strategy.
Additionality and Impact
Varjo is a Finnish company founded in 2016, that develops human-eye resolution virtual and mixed reality headsets. Varjo's products are specifically designed to meet high demanding enterprise use cases in various areas including training and simulation, design and engineering, research and medical.
The project supports the policy objective of support for SMEs, as well as innovation and digitalisation by providing tailored venture debt financing to an innovative start-up developing high definition Virtual Reality (VR) / Extended Reality (XR) hardware and software for industrial use. The project entails positive knowledge spill-overs related to VR/XR technologies, benefiting business and research partners and strengthening the capabilities for digital technologies in the EU.
EIB's financial contribution facilitates the SME's sustainable growth and helps to maintain its technological edge, despite the adverse economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, it provides a positive signalling effect to crowd-in further financing from private investors.
EIB Venture Debt financing is a highly differentiated form of non-dilutive growth financing which entails large amounts, long availability period and long maturities.
Environmental aspects
Procurement
The project activities do not fall under the Annexes I or II of the EU Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU. The project will be carried out in existing facilities, already authorised, that will not change their scope due to the project. As such, the project activities are not subject to a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment.
The promoter is a private company not operating in the utilities sector and not having the status of a contracting entity, thus not being subject to EU rules on public procurement. Under these conditions, the procurement procedures followed by the promoter are suitable for the project.
Related documents
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Documents
Environmental and Social Data Sheet (ESDS) - VARJO (EGF VD)
Publication Date
22 Dec 2021
Document language
Main Topic
Lending
Document Number
141627912
Document Focus
Environmental Information
Document Type
Project Number
20210232
Sector(s)
Regions
Countries
Publicly available
Download now
Environmental and Social Completion Sheet (ESCS) - VARJO (EGF VD)
Publication Date
30 Nov 2024
Document language
Main Topic
Lending
Document Number
226623385
Document Focus
Environmental Information
Document Type
Project Number
20210232
Sector(s)
Regions
Countries
Publicly available
Download now
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News & Stories
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Inside the project
How and Why
Lower business travel emissions
Why
- Reduces the need for business travel and thus cuts carbon emissions
- To support innovative companies in sectors that are strategically important for Europe’s future
- So Varjo can compete with industry giants such as Meta, Google and Microsoft
How
- With €20 million in venture debt financing from the EIB. (Venture debt is a quasi- equity investment, but it does not deprive a company’s founders of ownership.)
- The use of Varjo’s technologies could drastically reduce the emissions produced by travelling people who could simply go to a meeting or conference on another continent in their living room.
- Instead of a few days, design reviews take hours.
Sectors & Countries
Story
Cyberpunk CEO
Urho Konttori grew up in Helsinki, just two kilometres away from where Varjo now has its headquarters. He played role-playing games like Shadowrun and read science fiction. “The book that influenced me the most in that period was William Gibson’s Neuromancer.” The cyberpunk novel follows a hacker who uses a device mounted onto his head to enter cyberspace. Sound familiar?
Fast-forward 30 years later and fiction has become reality. Konttori is chief executive of Varjo, a global leader in virtual and mixed reality hardware and software. The company’s headsets offer the highest resolution in the market.
But it’s difficult to convince companies to buy something they can’t see. Because of the pandemic, the company struggled to demonstrate its solutions to new customers as trade shows got cancelled and client offices worldwide closed. At the same time, the demand for better remote collaboration tools peaked.
That’s when the European Investment Bank stepped in.
"Anything that one person can imagine others can make real"
What is extended reality?
Extended reality refers to any technology that alters our physical reality by adding digital elements to it. It’s an umbrella term that covers everything from augmented to virtual reality:
- Augmented reality takes place in the real world, but digital information is added virtually like an overlay
- Virtual reality immerses you in a fully virtual world
- Mixed reality is a hybrid of augmented and virtual reality, where digital and physical objects coexist and interact
What is venture debt?
Venture debt is a loan to an early stage company that provides liquidity to a business for the period between equity funding rounds. Venture debt is rarely used as a long-term financing solution. Typically, these loans are repaid within a period of 18 months or sometimes up to two-three years. Most often, private venture debt providers (funds or banks) expect to be repaid from the proceeds of the next funding round. However, venture debt providers stay very closely linked to venture capital investors and it is not unusual to see a being provided with such loans multiple times during its development.
Related media
Beam me up, Finland
Finnish metaverse company Varjo is boldly going where no one has gone before with virtual reality technology that makes virtual teleportation a reality
What is venture debt?
Venture debt is a loan to an early stage company that provides liquidity to the business for the period between equity funding rounds. All your questions about venture debt, answered by the EU bank.
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