Engage XR signs new deal in Middle East

Company has also extended deal with American bank

Engage XR chief executive David Whelan

Irish-based spatial computing company Engage XR said it has signed a significant deal in the education training and development sector, its largest to date.

The company, which specialises in metaverse technologies, said the seven-figure contract was with a large Middle East-based company, and would see Engage develop a private digital world for it to deliver language learning programmes and professional ongoing development.

“The signing of our biggest ever contract underlines the progress we are making in the education, training and development verticals, It also extends our presence in the Middle East,” chief executive David Whelan said. “Customers in these verticals are clearly willing to invest heavily in Engage, and we expect education, training and development to be the primary driver of revenue this year. Our understanding of the needs of customers in these areas has accelerated during 2023, and we are better placed to target and win more business as a result.”

The project is being undertaken in partnership with PwC.

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“This initiative represents a significant leap forward in harnessing the power of spatial computing technologies to revolutionise the education and professional development landscape,” said Sally Jeffery, PwC’s Global Education & Skills Practice Leader. “By integrating immersive learning experiences, we aim to unlock new potentials in language acquisition and continuous skill enhancement. This collaboration underscores our commitment to driving innovation and excellence in the education sector, marking a pivotal moment in our journey to redefine the future of learning.”

Engage XR also said it had extended its relationship with a leading American bank, a partnership that it began last year with an initial employee onboarding event. The six-figure contract will continue to cover employee onboarding, and also ongoing development of the platform being provided to the bank.

Mr Whelan said the company was also beginning to see movement in its deal pipeline, following delays in the second half last year with customers signing contracts, and there was also progress expected as a result of existing partnerships.

“We also expect to see the benefits of our partnership with Lenovo during 2024. At CES earlier this month, we released Engage on Lenovo’s VRX headset with additional AI features and abilities, receiving positive feedback,” he said. “We believe 2024 will see growing interest in spatial computing / metaverse services as Apple releases its Vision Pro headset in February and new devices are expected to be released from Sony, Samsung, Google, and Meta later this year. Overall we are excited at the opportunity before us and believe that the group is well placed to take advantage of the increasing interest in spatial computing and the metaverse.”

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist