Melbourne-headquartered JigSpace is on a roll, drawing comparisons to Canva and closing its latest funding round the same week that Apple CEO Tim Cook praised the “incredible” company.
The company’s mission is to enable any user to transform CAD models into 3D presentations, otherwise known as “Jigs.” To do this, JigSpace offers tools to “make what is hard to explain, hard to forget.”
It’s a formula that has caught the attention of some high-profile investors, as well as the CEO of the world’s largest technology company.
“We love working with Apple, and Tim Cook calling Jig was a huge moment for us as a team. It validates our hard work over the years and certainly doesn’t hurt our image,” Zac Duff, co-founder and CEO of JigSpace, told Forbes Australia.
“We have worked hard to position ourselves at the forefront of spatial computing here, and we intend to stay there.”
Founded in 2015, JigSpace offers interactive 3D presentation software. It produces content for Apple’s newest product, Vision Pro.
“Hardware and software are converging into a product that will allow us to communicate ideas and knowledge in exactly the same way we experience them: in three dimensions. Right in front of you, ready to be questioned, touched, probed, together or at your own pace. Apple Vision Pro is the first to cross that threshold,” says Duff.
Augmented reality is a medium that Silicon Valley and Los Angeles’ Silicon Beach have been experimenting with for some time. JigSpace’s CEO believes that changing demographics mean the time is right to embrace the technology.
“We’re experiencing a shift that’s not just technological but generational. Customers and users – largely millennials and increasingly Gen Z – understand 3D. They’ve either been playing 3D games since the ’90s, or they’re among the two-thirds of kids who play Roblox, Minecraft or Fortnite. The user experience of mobile apps has changed what we expect from our work software, thirty years of gaming and real-time 3D technology has done the same thing,” Duff says.
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Spatial computing is a huge industry to tap into. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% to reach $519 billion by 2032. JigSpace aims to “democratize 3D visualization” by focusing on “training, sales, and marketing in the sustainable manufacturing sector.”
The long-term goal is to do for 3D what Canva did for 2D. And while JigSpace is winning accolades on the global stage, the company’s roots are very local.
“Melbourne has a strong 3D developer community, primarily in the video game space, which is the technology that spatial computing is built on. We attended Startmate in 2018 in Melbourne, so being able to combine that 3D talent pool with a strong entrepreneurial culture has been very important to our journey,” says Duff.
Breakthrough Victoria contributed $4.4 million to the fundraising round. Grant Dooley is Breakthrough’s CEO.
““JigSpace is often referred to as the next Canva, and this investment is a testament to its potential to revolutionize the augmented reality industry. We are excited to support its vision and growth, which will not only generate economic benefits, but also solidify Victoria’s position as a hub for technology innovation,” said Dooley.
Aura Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Rampersand, Investible, Vulpes and angel investor Hugh Bickerstaff also participated in the fundraising.
Are you – or do you know someone – building the next Afterpay or Canva? Nominations are now open for Forbes Australia’s inaugural 30 Under 30 list. Entries close at midnight on 31 July 2024.
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