Melbourne-headquartered JigSpace is on a roll. It is being compared to Canva and completed its latest fundraising round in the same week Apple CEO Tim Cook heaped praise on the “incredible” company.
The mission of the company is to enable any user to turn CAD models into 3D presentations, otherwise known as ‘Jigs.’ To do that, JigSpace offers tools to ‘make the hard to explain, hard to forget.’
It’s a formula that has captured the attention of some big-name investors, as well as the CEO of the largest tech company in the world.
“We love working with Apple, so having Tim Cook call Jig out was a huge moment for us as a team. It validates our hard work over the years and certainly doesn’t hurt our profile,” co-founder and CEO of JigSpace Zac Duff tells Forbes Australia.
“We worked hard to position ourselves here at the front of spatial computing, and we intend to stay here.”
Founded in 2015, JigSpace provides interactive 3D presentation software. It is producing content for Apple’s recently launched Vision Pro.
“Hardware and software have been converging on a product that will enable us to communicate ideas and knowledge in exactly the same way we experience it—in three dimensions. Right there in front of you, ready to be interrogated, poked, prodded, together or in your own time. Apple Vision Pro is the first to have crossed that threshold,” says Duff.
Augmented reality is a medium Silicon Valley and LA’s Silicon Beach have been experimenting with for some time. The JigSpace CEO says changing demographics mean that now is the right time for the technology.
“We’re experiencing a shift that is not only technological but generational. Customers and users – largely millennial and increasingly Gen-Z – understand 3D. They’ve either played 3D games since the 90s, or they are part of the roughly two-thirds of kids that play Roblox, Minecraft or Fortnite. Mobile app UX changed what we expect from our work software, thirty years of games and real-time 3D tech has done the same thing,” says Duff.
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Spatial computing is an enormous sector to tap into. The market is projected to grow 19 per cent CAGR and reach US$519 billion by 2032. JigSpace aims to ‘democratise 3D visualisation’ focusing on ‘training, sales and marketing in the durable manufacturing sector.’
The long-range objective is to do to 3D what Canva has done for 2D. And while JigSpace may be winning accolades on the global stage, the roots of the company are very much local.
“Melbourne has a strong 3D development community, mainly in video games, which is the tech underpinning spatial computing. We went through Startmate in 2018 in Melbourne, so being able to blend that pool of 3D talent with a strong entrepreneurial culture was super important in our journey,” says Duff.
Breakthrough Victoria contributed $4.4 million to the raise. Grant Dooley is the CEO of Breakthrough.
“JigSpace is often referred to as the next Canva, and this investment is a testament to their potential to revolutionise the AR industry. We are excited to support their vision and growth, which will not only drive economic benefit, but also solidify Victoria’s position as a hub for technological innovation,” says Dooley.
Aura Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Rampersand, Investible, Vulpes and angel investor Hugh Bickerstaff were also a part of the raise.
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