Irish VR start-up Mersus wins European Technology Award

4 Dec 2023

From left: Mersus co-founders Dermot Condron and Geoffrey Allen at the event. Image: European Technology Awards

Founded by Geoffrey Allen and Dermot Condron, the start-up was recognised at the National Manufacturing Awards last year for its VR training platform.

Athlone-based start-up Mersus Technologies has emerged victorious in the virtual reality category of the European Technology Awards this year.

Using a combination of traditional animation art and advanced computer-generated image technology, Mersus has developed an immersive virtual reality (VR) platform that replicates real-world environments and scenarios with precision.

This VR technology is primarily aimed at helping businesses improve their employee training programmes by creating immersive and interactive training experiences.

Founded by Geoffrey Allen and Dermot Condron, Mersus won the Best Training and Development programme award at the National Manufacturing Awards last year.

According to the European Technology Awards website, using the low-code VR platform developed by Mersus can standardise specialised training processes and reduce costs by enabling businesses to create VR training in house.

Its virtual training product called Avatar Academy aims at training employees in the life sciences industry, allowing them to participate in real-time sessions with others across the world using avatars.

The Business Post reports that Mersus has recently started working with Digital Manufacturing Ireland, an advanced manufacturing centre in Limerick that was launched in March to support the next wave of manufacturing in Ireland.

The facility will act as a “national centre of excellence” to support Irish-based manufacturers of all sizes to innovate in and accelerate their adoption of digital technologies to give them a competitive edge on the global stage.

Mersus also told the outlet that it is in the early stages of a significant funding round it is planning for the next year. So far, the business has been bootstrapped by the founders, but the fresh funding will help the start-up to scale.

Held at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on Friday (1 December), the annual awards recognise the work of European start-ups and companies that show excellence in technology research and innovation.

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Vish Gain is a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com