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Key people at Vrvana.
Vrvana develops advanced virtual reality headsets incorporating transparent and projection-based display technologies. The company's core product is the Totem, a comprehensive 3D virtual and augmented reality system designed to offer an immersive experience. This headset integrates a sophisticated projection system along with sensors, audio, and cameras to create detailed virtual environments.
The company was founded in 2014 by Bertrand Nepveu, Jean-Francois Sicard, and Marc-Olivier Lepage. Nepveu, an engineer with a background in gaming, conceived the initial vision. Their insight centered on the need for a robust and comfortable virtual reality solution that could deliver high fidelity experiences, pushing the boundaries of what was then available in the immersive technology landscape.
Vrvana primarily serves users seeking high-performance virtual reality, with an initial focus on the gaming community. The company envisions a future where its technology enables seamlessly integrated virtual and augmented realities, providing users with sophisticated tools for interaction and immersion across various applications. Its ongoing research and development aim to enhance the foundational capabilities of its head-mounted displays.
Vrvana was a Quebec-based startup founded in 2005 that developed innovative mixed reality (MR) hardware, most notably the Totem headset—a tethered "extended reality" device combining augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) capabilities in one form factor.[1][2][3] It served enterprise clients like Valve, Tesla, and Audi, solving key challenges in MR such as seamless blending of real and virtual worlds via forward-facing pass-through cameras, 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) positional tracking, and advanced hand tracking for natural interaction with digital objects.[3][4] Vrvana raised modest funding under $2 million, including from Real Ventures and a $350,000 Kickstarter campaign for market validation, before Apple acquired it in 2017 for around $30 million, integrating its tech and about a dozen employees, including CEO Bertrand Nepveu, into Apple's AR/VR efforts—technology that later contributed to the Apple Vision Pro.[2][3][4][5]
Vrvana emerged from founder Bertrand Nepveu's passion for immersive gaming, inspired by 1980s titles like Donkey Kong on ColecoVision and the graphical power of the Xbox 360 during his MBA.[2] After engineering and business degrees, Nepveu rallied colleagues to build a VR headset, birthing Vrvana in 2005 in Montreal (or Quebec more broadly).[1][2][3][5] Early hurdles included fundraising; Nepveu turned to Kickstarter in 2014 for $350,000, proving product-market fit and attracting Real Ventures—the only Canadian VC then open to ambitious hardware plays.[2][3] Pivotal traction came with the Totem prototype, an unreleased enterprise-focused MR headset using OLED displays, IR cameras for hand tracking, and pass-through tech for AR/VR switching, which drew partnerships under NDA.[2][3][4] This culminated in Apple's 2017 acquisition, after which Nepveu joined the Vision Pro team under Mike Rockwell.[2][5]
Vrvana rode the early 2010s XR (extended reality) wave, bridging niche VR hobbyism to mainstream MR amid Apple's growing AR ambitions (e.g., ARKit, Metal API support) and enterprise demand, where Tim Cook highlighted double-digit growth.[2][3][4] Timing was ideal: post-Xbox 360 graphics leaps made consumer-grade headsets feasible, while Vrvana's camera-based passthrough and tracking anticipated spatial computing trends, influencing Apple's enterprise pivot (e.g., partnerships with IBM, Cisco).[3] Its acquisition accelerated Big Tech's MR push, seeding Vision Pro tech and validating Canadian hardware innovation via firms like Real Ventures, shaping the ecosystem toward hybrid AR/VR devices now central to metaverse and productivity tools.[2][3][5]
Post-acquisition, Vrvana's legacy endures through Apple Vision Pro's core tech, with Nepveu now at Triptyq Capital investing in spatial computing—signaling XR's evolution from gaming novelty to enterprise/media staple.[2][6] Expect its hand-tracking and passthrough innovations to underpin next-gen Apple devices amid rising AI-driven spatial apps; trends like lighter form factors and eye/hand controls will amplify this influence.[2][3] As XR matures, Vrvana exemplifies how agile startups fuel giants, potentially inspiring a new wave of Canadian XR exits in a market projected for explosive growth. This Quebec pioneer's tech hums quietly in millions of headsets, proving early visionaries like Nepveu set the stage for immersive futures.[1][2]
Key people at Vrvana.
