Virtuix, the company behind the Omni VR treadmill, announced it’s raised $4.7 million through its latest crowd investment round. The Austin, Texas-based company also says it plans to ship 1,000 of its Omni One VR treadmills by the end of this year.

Earlier this year, Virtuix launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to further support the production of its Omni One VR treadmill, which, when paired with a VR headset, allows you to physically run around in a VR game instead of relying on artificial locomotion schemes, like stick movement or teleportation.

Similar to other parabolic VR treadmills like KAT VR, Omni One requires you to wear special low-friction shoes and strap into a harness system which keeps you in the center of the base’s parabola. Read about our latest hands-on to see Omni One in action.

Since launch in early 2023, the campaign has already raised over $4.7 million. Although just short of its initial $5 million target, Virtuix has decided to conclude the crowdfunding campaign earlier than planned on August 10th.

In addition to individual investors, the funding round received significant support from JC Team Capital, a prior investor, with its founder and CEO, Parth Jani, joining Virtuix’s Board of Directors as a lead investor. Virtuix intends to use the funds to increase Omni One’s production and aims to achieve profitability by 2024.

Virtuix has already started shipping beta units of Omni One to 8,000 of its equity investors. More than 1,000 units are said to ship out by the end of this year, with plans to deliver to all remaining investors in the first quarter of 2024. Pre-orders for the general public are expected to open in late 2023, with deliveries scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024.

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While more accessible to consumers than similar enterprise devices, Omni One’s introductory is $2,595, which includes the Pico VR headset—a sharp reminder that the accessory largely appeals to prosumers and businesses. The company has however devised a payment plan that offers the device as low as $65 per month.

Virtuix’s CEO, Jan Goetgeluk, expressed excitement about Omni One’s success and its potential for rapid revenue growth, saying the company already has a waitlist of 35,000 interested customers.

Founded in 2013, the latest campaign puts Virtuix’s lifetime funding to more than $35 million which was sourced from both individual and institutional investors.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ViRGiN

    So basically nothing compared to even pimax.
    And nothing is what they are offering. This will never catch on, simply cause it’s not really compatible with anything people actually would like to play, and second is not walking motion either.

    RPO treadmills or gtfo.

  • Beeing constantly attached to a „backpack“ while making unnatural steps is just not cutting it, imho and severely breaks immersion.
    I wish them luck though.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Have you actually used it already for quite some time?

    • BenVirtuix

      Thank you! The back cushions are extremely comfortable, like sinking into the seat of a luxury car. I’m very proud of what my teammates have achieved there. The walking becomes more natural feeling with practice.

  • Peter vasseur

    The biggest issues is it’s a closed eco system treadmill. That’s a bad idea. Wont ever get my money if I can’t use my psvr2 with it. Also I don’t want a pico, stupid decisions by this company.

    • BenVirtuix

      We will have emulation software for PCVR games to help players who want to use other headsets and software platforms, but it likely won’t work for games on closed platforms, such as the Quest or PSVR2. You could use Quest 2 as a PCVR headset with Omni One.

      • R3ST4RT

        Will there be an option to purchase the treadmill without the pico headset?

  • gothicvillas

    Hmm… i haven’t used it. Does the sliding really feels like walking? On another note, I don’t want to use Pico so out regardless.

    • BenVirtuix

      The gait (how you move your body, legs, and arms) is almost identical to how you walk in real life. Where it differs is the sensation through your feet, where there is a sliding feeling rather than a feeling of stable traction. There is also a period of adjusting to the low friction surface. When you are immersed in the game and having fun though, you don’t focus on these differences. Your brain adapts, and treats it like real life – I see a place that I want to go to, so I’ll walk there. This is in contrast to using a hand-held controller to move, which I’ve always found to be an unsatisfying way of moving around in VR.

  • Compliments to the Virtuix team!