Holoride, the Germany-based startup bringing XR entertainment to car passengers, has filed for bankruptcy, citing the inability to secure its latest investment round.

In a LinkedIn post, Holoride CEO & co-founder Nils Wollny reveals the company’s latest investment round “appeared secure,” however it fell apart at the last minute.

“Despite the lead investor’s conviction, the negotiated term sheet, finalized contracts, and scheduled notary appointment, the LP funds failed to arrive on time,” Wollny maintains.

The company’s most recent funding round was in December 2021, which was an undisclosed amount led by Vendetta Capital.

In reflection, Wollny says Holoride was “early, imperfect, and made mistakes,” however has created “some remarkable tech” over the years.

SEE ALSO
Meta Releases 'Horizon Hyperscape' for Quest 3, Letting You Explore (and maybe eventually upload) Photorealistic Places

“I’m grateful for our dedicated and talented team, united behind holoride’s vision. Together, we view the coming weeks of the preliminary insolvency process as a chance for a reset with new investors or owners,” Wollny says. “Witnessing our team huddle, hustle, and have fun amid the challenges fills me with optimism. I am sure we’ll emerge stronger from this period of restructuring. It will be intense, but I eagerly anticipate the journey ahead.”

Co-founded by Audi in 2018, Holoride connected XR headset-wearing car passengers with with motion and location-aware vehicle data, allowing bespoke XR content to match up with the physical world. The company still sells its consumer-focused kit, which bundles in an HTC Vive Flow, puck-like device to translate car movement to the headset, gamepad, and three months of its game subscription service.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


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

    This was pure nonsense from the beginning. Lmao.

  • Aww.. Concepts like this are really cool. What a way to make a long car trip fly by. This is something I’d have dreamed about as a kid. I’m sad it didn’t work out.

  • STL

    Oh my god, who could have predicted that? without irony: who invests in something like that?

    • alxslr

      Someone who has never felt sick

  • Heathcliff

    “citing the inability to secure its latest investment round” perfectly reflects many companies in today’s economy. Companies which inherent value isn’t strong enough to generate cash on their own so they need to rely on investor / outside funds for too long to become a viable business.

    Maybe in a far future with mass adoption of self driving cars will the idea of holoride experience some sort of renaissance, interesting to see how the founder seems unwilling to give up despite all of this.