Trinity & Volograms Ltd
Lead Researcher(s):
Professor Aljoša Smolic, Rafael Pagés, Jan Ondrej, Konstantinos Amplianitus, David Monaghan
Volograms is a Trinity Campus Company, operating in the Virtual and Augmented Reality sectors on a mission to bring reality capture closer to everyone. Volograms’ technology enables the capture of real people into volumetric holograms, “volograms,” which can be enjoyed within all kinds of experiences, apps and social media, using smartphones, tablets, AR and VR headsets.
In April 2018, an IP licence was executed granting Volograms exclusive rights to commercialise patented IP and associated software and know-how developed at Trinity. This licence has resulted in the company reaching the market very quickly and launching highly innovative new commercial product offerings and developing a diverse and growing customer base. In return for the licensed rights, the company pays all patent costs and has agreed to other financial terms aiming to ensure that the company shares commercial success with Trinity in a fair and reasonable way.
The IP licence was a crucial requirement for the company to seek and successfully secure investment and in 2018, Volograms secured its first seed investment of €600,000 from Atlantic Bridge and the University Bridge Fund as well as receiving €250,000 from Enterprise Ireland together with EI High-Performance Start-Up designation.
The TTO supported the project from a very early stage including providing advice on IP evaluation and protection and assisting with an application which enabled the funding of an Enterprise Ireland Commercial Feasibility Project. The TTO also gave expert start-up company advice that ensured valuable links into the investment community could be accessed. Volograms’ CEO, Dr Rafa Pagés is an excellent role model for Trinity researchers and has presented at several TTO training events as well as other high-profile Trinity showcasing events. Strong multidisciplinary research associations in this case have been developed, in particular with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Underpinning Funding Sources Include:
Enterprise Ireland
Science Foundation Ireland