The amount of money invested in virtual reality and augmented reality companies more than tripled last year, jumping from $700 million to $2.3 billion according to a market report from Digi-Capital.



However, that’s just a drop in the ocean - Digi-Capital believes the AR/VR market could be worth $108 billion a year within the next four years. And Brexit could well help Ireland win a significant slice of that very big pie.

Alex Gibson, a professor at Dublin Institute of Technology, explains: "At present, Britain is undoubtedly the main market in the EU when it comes to augmented reality and virtual reality.

"However, with the advent of Brexit the massive expected investment into European AR and VR will need a new home within the EU and that creates significant opportunities for other countries – particularly Ireland. There is now a major gap in the EU market and if we were to cultivate an R&D environment for AR and VR in this country we would be very well placed to occupy that space.”

From Immersive VR Education, a Waterford-based virtual reality startup targeting the education sector that recently raised €1 million in early-stage funding, and InfiniLED, a Cork-based VR startup that had a very big exit when it was recently acquired by VR heavyweight Oculus Rift, to Firstage, an Irish augmented reality startup targeting the music industry, and DAQRI International, a Dublin-based firm that develops augmented reality hardware, Ireland is already making significant strides in the AR/VR market.

However, the European Investment Fund, an investment fund that partners with VCs to provide early-stage funding and growth capital to startups and scale ups in the EU, and Horizon 2020, a funding programme designed to support cutting-edge research and development by businesses in the European Union, will no longer be open to the UK once it finalises its withdrawal from the EU.

The net result of that withdrawal could mean that Britain’s share of that EU funding could be offered up to cutting-edge AR/VR companies in other EU countries...and Ireland could well win a significant portion of that funding if it continues to support and develop its AR/VR sector.

Alex Gibson explains: "When you consider the burgeoning AR and VR community in Ireland, the significant technology talent that is already located in this country, our strong track record in working with the major multinational technology companies, our shared language with the US and then add in our corporate tax rates and the benefits provided by measures like the Knowledge Box, we are very well placed to take advantage of this opportunity."