Virtual reality is no longer just a sci-fi fantasy. It's becoming a real part of how people train, compete, heal, and play. As headsets become more capable and accessible, a new wave of startups is proving that VR has staying power well beyond gaming, from surgical training that sharpens real-world skills to sports simulators trusted by pro athletes.
This list covers the top VR startups worth following in 2026. You'll also get a look at the founders, investors, and funding behind each one.
Virtual Reality Startups to Follow
Every year, new startups push to the forefront of their industry through bold innovation and category-defining products. We've rounded up the most exciting VR startups of 2026 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing worldwide, we aren't able to cover them all. The startups listed below are not officially ranked and appear in no particular order. Total funding figures reflect cumulative disclosed equity financing as of June 2026. Figures exclude debt facilities, credit lines, and grants.
1. Osso VR
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Dr. Justin Barad, Matthew Newport
- Founded In: 2016
- Total Funding: ~$109 Million
- Latest Round: Series C, $66 Million
- Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Oak HC/FT, SignalFire, GSR Ventures
Osso VR runs a VR surgical training and assessment platform used by more than 100,000 healthcare professionals worldwide. It lets surgeons practice complex procedures in a realistic, low-risk virtual environment and scores them on accuracy, efficiency, and technique. Co-founded by an orthopedic surgeon with a background in game development, Osso partners with major medical device companies to train clinicians on new tools and procedures across specialties from orthopedics to cardiology.
2. StatusPRO
- Location: Miami, Florida
- Founders: Troy Jones, Andrew Hawkins
- Founded In: 2020
- Total Funding: ~$51 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $20 Million
- Investors Include: GV (Google Ventures), Dream Sports, Verizon Ventures
Founded by two former NFL players, StatusPRO turns real player data into first-person VR sports experiences. Its flagship title, NFL Pro Era, was the first NFL- and NFLPA-licensed VR game and became one of the fastest-selling sports titles on the Meta Quest platform, passing one million users. The company started with a coaching tool for NFL teams before expanding into consumer gaming, and it counts athletes and entertainers like LeBron James, Naomi Osaka, and Drake among its investors.
3. WIN Reality
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Founders: Chris O'Dowd, Dan O'Dowd
- Founded In: 2018
- Total Funding: ~$48.8 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $48.8 Million
- Investors Include: Spectrum Equity, Lago Innovation Fund
WIN Reality delivers VR baseball and softball training through the Meta Quest headset, letting hitters face game-speed pitches from a library of thousands of real-life pitchers. Founded by a former Colorado Rockies general manager and his son, a former pro player, the platform is used by a majority of Major League Baseball franchises and more than 100 NCAA programs. Players can train at their own pace and get instant feedback on swing timing, pitch recognition, and biomechanics.
4. Resolution Games
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Founders: Tommy Palm, Paul Brady, Martin Vilcans
- Founded In: 2015
- Total Funding: ~$38.5 Million
- Latest Round: Series C, $25 Million
- Investors Include: Qualcomm Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures, MizMaa Ventures
Led by one of the developers behind Candy Crush Saga, Resolution Games is one of the most prolific studios building exclusively for virtual and mixed reality. Its catalog includes award-winning multiplayer titles like Demeo and Spatial Ops, with Demeo alone generating more than $10 million in revenue on Meta Quest. The studio has been an early adopter of nearly every major VR platform, from the original Samsung Gear VR to today's Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2, and Apple Vision Pro.
5. TRIPP
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Founders: Nanea Reeves, Zachary Norman
- Founded In: 2017
- Total Funding: ~$26.3 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $11.2 Million
- Investors Include: BITKRAFT Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund
TRIPP delivers a VR-based mindfulness and meditation platform designed to support stress management, focus, and mental well-being. The app pairs striking visuals and binaural audio with gamification to make meditation more engaging, and it's available across major VR headsets and mobile devices. More recently, TRIPP added an AI-powered feature called Kokua to personalize each user's practice.
6. FitXR
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Sam Cole, Sameer Baroova
- Founded In: 2016
- Total Funding: ~$20 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $7.5 Million
- Investors Include: Hiro Capital, Maveron, BoostVC, TenOneTen Ventures
FitXR is a VR fitness platform that turns workouts into immersive games across studios for boxing, HIIT, dance, and combat training. One of the most-downloaded apps on the Meta Quest store, it offers more than 1,000 on-demand classes led by professional trainers, including Olympic boxer Nicola Adams. The company has also run research into how immersive workouts compare with non-immersive exercise, with early findings suggesting they may offer added physical and mental well-being benefits.
7. Innoactive
- Location: Munich, Germany
- Founders: Daniel Seidl, Benedikt Reiser
- Founded In: 2013
- Total Funding: ~$5.1 Million
- Latest Round: Series A, $5.1 Million
- Investors Include: Boost VC, Capnamic Ventures, UVC Partners
Innoactive helps enterprises deploy and scale immersive training, design review, and digital twin workflows across headsets, browsers, and spatial computing devices. A simulation can be built once, then streamed to a global workforce with a single click. The company has leaned into spatial computing, partnering with NVIDIA and Apple to stream high-fidelity design and training workflows to headsets including the Apple Vision Pro.
8. Sandbox VR
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founders: Steve Zhao
- Founded In: 2016
- Total Funding: ~$119 Million
- Latest Round: Series B, $37 Million
- Investors Include: Andreessen Horowitz, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners
Sandbox VR runs a leading network of location-based VR entertainment venues, where groups suit up with headsets, haptic vests, and full-body motion sensors to step into immersive adventures together. Its proprietary platform powers exclusive original titles alongside licensed experiences built with Netflix, including Squid Game Virtuals and Stranger Things: Catalyst. The company has surpassed $300 million in lifetime sales and grown to more than 80 locations across 13 countries, drawing close to 150,000 players a month, with celebrity backers including Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, and Kevin Durant.
9. Emerge
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Founders: Isaac Castro, Sly Spencer-Lee, Mauricio Teran
- Founded In: 2015
- Total Funding: ~$25 Million
- Latest Round: Series B, $13 Million
- Investors Include: Vulcan Capital, M13, MiLA Capital
Emerge creates shared virtual experiences you can physically feel. Its flagship product, the Emerge Wave-1, is a tabletop device that uses ultrasonic waves to let people touch and interact with digital objects using their bare hands, no gloves or controllers required. The company has partnered with Sony to bring its tactile technology to smart TVs, aiming to make virtual interaction feel more human and connected.
10. TG0
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Founders: Ming Kong, Dr. Liucheng Guo
- Founded In: 2015
- Total Funding: ~$12.3 Million
- Latest Round: Series B, $5.67 Million
- Investors Include: Plug and Play, NetMind.AI, European Innovation Council Fund
TG0 develops touch-sensitive, pressure-mapping technology that replaces complex electronic sensor networks with a single flexible material. For VR and AR, that means more natural and intuitive ways to interact with virtual objects through tactile sensing, pressure mapping, and gesture recognition. The company, formerly known as TANGI0, has since extended its technology into automotive interiors and healthcare applications as well.
Final Thoughts
Virtual reality startups are reshaping how we train, compete, and take care of ourselves. From surgical simulations designed to improve clinical training to sports platforms trusted by pro athletes, these companies are proving that immersive technology has real staying power beyond gaming.
Each platform on this list is working to make virtual experiences feel more useful, more engaging, and more human. They're worth keeping an eye on as the space continues to evolve through 2026 and beyond.