Talespin Reality Labs Inc., an enterprise workforce training firm that uses virtual and augmented reality solutions for talent development, announced Thursday that it has raised $20 million in new funding co-led by Seek Investments and Allomer Capital.

Additional investors joining the Series C funding round included Pearson Ventures, Accenture Ventures, Go1 and Sony Innovation Fund. This round increases the total institutional investments in Talespin to more than $40 million.

Talespin’s platform uses immersive extended reality hardware to simulate a large number of different job situations in order to provide skill development. And this can be done from anywhere, allowing for both remote and hybrid work during training. This is especially useful during the pandemic, when many workplaces have switched to these models for the safety of their workers.

The technology can also create 3D virtual humans powered with artificial intelligence that permit people to practice conversational and leadership skills. Talespin calls this “virtual human” technology, which is aimed at promoting soft skills and interpersonal communication for workforces that operate in customer service and leadership. It’s the basis of the company’s “Leading Through Uncertainty” VR curriculum that is designed to provide business leadership practice training for crisis management.

Talespin also offers a powerful 3D authoring tool for instructors called CoPilot Designer. With CoPilot, mentors can create immersive environments and scenarios based on their own experience with narrative flows in order to provide workers with virtual experiences to prepare them for real-world problems.

“The first step to creating an immersive learning ecosystem was to change the skills profile and resources required to create content. Before CoPilot Designer, this took hundreds of thousands of dollars and a team of developers,” said Kyle Jackson, co-founder and chief executive of Talespin. “Immersive learning simulations can now be created in a matter of days by learning designers and other professionals in the business.”

Talespin’s platform is currently in use across numerous industries including professional services company Accenture, AIA Hong Kong & Macau, Farmers Insurance, Jobs for the Future and more.

“Amid heightened interest in immersive learning, augmented reality and the metaverse, Talespin is ideally positioned to capitalize on the convergence of learning and spatial computing, two sectors that are experiencing rapid growth,” said Tom Lounibos, managing director at Accenture Ventures.

The metaverse, an interconnected network of persistent 3D virtual worlds facilitated by VR, has become a buzzword of late. Increasing interest in its growth has also driven increased interest in VR and AR technology and its use, which puts embracing VR training and Talespin’s platform at the cusp of an emerging industry.

According to the market analysis website Statista, the AR/VR market was $30.7 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $300 billion by 2024, driven heavily by entertainment and the metaverse, as well as the remote needs of the education sector during the pandemic.

Image: Talespin