Columbus AR startup raises $2 million pre-seed round
Three former employees of renowned augmented reality (AR) company Magic Leap have raised $2 million to build their own AR business in Columbus.
Greg Tran, Martin Smith, and Sean Couture unveiled their company, Trace, by announcing an oversubscribed $2 million pre-seed, co-led by Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures.
Founded in 2021, Trace builds location-based branded AR experiences and counts among its customers Qualcomm, Telefónica, T-Mobile, and Lenovo, according to TechCrunch.
Tran serves as CEO, Smith as CTO, and Couture as head of 3D art. In addition to the three founders, the company employs contractors.
Trace expects to open the creator experience to the public in the coming months, offering a subscription-based model for enterprise clients.
You can get a feel for Trace’s capabilities - which Tran describes as a Squarespace for AR experiences - in this video demo.
What it Means to Ohio
AR technology is poised to offer big opportunities for innovation in many industries, including ones that Ohio has a deep and rich expertise in such as education, healthcare, and manufacturing. A large pre-seed investment into an Ohio AR company provides a strong signal that Ohio is a home for emerging technologies.
Trace’s fundraise was also anchored by Ohio VC funds including Columbus-based Rev1 Ventures which co-led the investment round.
Tran also thanked the Ohio Innovation Fund along with a number of out-of-state firms now more deeply invested in Ohio: “Big shoutout to Rev1 Ventures, Impellent Ventures, Ohio Innovation Fund, Everywhere Ventures, Portland Seed Fund, Service Provider Capital, MOVE Venture Capital, Astir Ventures, Phoenix Fund, Allied Venture Partners (with support from Gaingels), BORGET Sebastien, David Ng, Dan Reich, Paul Brady as well as Selene C., Steven Siger and Brandon Chu (scouts from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Index Ventures).”
What They’re Saying
“We’re very grateful for investors who share a vision where AR creation enriches our everyday experiences and transcends the limitations of traditional 2D media. … Together, we're forging new paths in spatial computing.”
- Greg Tran, Co-founder and CEO
“It’s really hard to make AR content. It’s really early in the ecosystem. There were a lot of partners with Magic Leap. Whenever they wanted to make content, it would take three to six months to do, take experts in development and 3D art and whole teams of people. We saw an opportunity to make that process a lot easier.”
- Greg Tran, Co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch
“Brands working with Trace have been able to experience and adopt its many benefits. The early track record demonstrated by clients and investors have been a great indicator for Rev1 Ventures and our collective decision to participate in the round and close at $2 million. We are excited to see and keep supporting the innovation and development of its key features, its immeasurable impact, and early adoption.”
