The 2025 Virtual Reality (VR) Report presents an industry that is changing how we engage with digital environments. It explores key trends shaping the landscape, such as motion tracking, haptics, and interactive virtual reality. The report also highlights the firmographic data, investment patterns, and technological advancements driving various sectors forward. These include entertainment, education, healthcare, and more.
The report was last updated in January 2025.
This virtual reality industry report serves as a reference for stakeholders within the industry, investors, policymakers, and economic analysts, providing a snapshot of the industry’s health to map its trajectory for innovation and growth in the coming years.
Executive Summary: VR Outlook 2025
- Industry Growth Overview: The virtual reality market report shows an industry that is experiencing an annual growth rate of 6.99%, with over 29 000 companies involved. The virtual reality market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.1% and reach USD 30 billion by 2029.
- Manpower & Employment Growth: The sector employs approximately 1.3 million people, with an addition of 120 000 new employees last year.
- Patents & Grants: Over 67 000 patents and more than 3300 grants have been secured. It reflects innovation and support for research and development within the sector.
- Global Footprint: The industry’s global presence includes major hubs in the US, India, UK, Germany, and Canada, with key cities such as London, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Bangalore. North America is estimated to contribute 33% to the growth of the global VR market.
- Investment Landscape: The virtual reality sector has attracted investment, with an average investment value of USD 15.1 million per funding round and over 10800 funding rounds completed.
- Top Investors: Investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Tencent, Coatue, and more have shown financial commitment, with the combined investment value exceeding USD 1.8 billion.
- Startup Ecosystem: Highlight includes innovative startups such as VRAIn (5D Ecography Visualization Tool), VRpilot (VR Flight Training), Prisms (Spatial Learning Platform), Emperia (Immersive E-commerce), and Reality Well (VR Platform for Senior Living).
Methodology: How we created this Virtual Reality Report
This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered Discovery Platform, which tracks 25 million global companies, 20K+ technologies and trends as well as 110M patents and business reports. Our data includes detailed firmographic insights into approximately 5 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this extensive database, we provide actionable insights on innovation, emerging technologies and market trends.
For this report, we focused on the evolution of virtual reality over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:
- Total Companies working on the trend
- News Coverage and Annual Growth
- Market Maturity and Patents
- Global Search Volume & Growth
- Funding Activity and Top Countries
- Subtrends within virtual reality report
Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.
Additionally, we reviewed trusted external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the virtual reality market.
What data is used to create this virtual reality report?
Based on the data provided by our Discovery Platform, we observe that the virtual reality industry ranks among the top 5% in the following categories relative to all 20K topics in our database.
These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the industry’s key metrics and inform the short-term future direction of the industry.
- News Coverage & Publications: The 25 000+ news coverages and publications that the industry received in the last year indicate media attention.
- Funding Rounds: There is data on more than 10 800 funding rounds available in our database.
- Manpower: The industry employs over 1.3 million workers, with more than 120 000 new employees added in the last year alone. This showcases the workforce growth and dynamism.
- Patents: Over 67 000 patents highlight the innovation in the sector.
- Grants: The industry also secured more than 3300 grants.
- Yearly Global Search Growth: The growth of 18.65% in yearly global search shows an increasing public interest and awareness.
Explore the Data-driven Virtual Reality Report for 2025
The heatmap presents a landscape that is experiencing continuous growth, with an annual trend growth rate of 6.99%. Our database has over 29 000 organizations, which includes 3600+ startups. The global VR market is set to reach USD 330.27 billion in 2033 growing at a CAGR of 28.3%.
Credit: Straits Research
This shows a high level of engagement and steady sector expansion. There are currently over 67 000 patents and 3300+ grants secured that demonstrate support for research and development. Multi-sensory experiences, including haptic feedback, are becoming a key trend in VR technology.
The global workforce in this industry stands at 1.3 million with employee growth exceeding 120 000 in the last year. The top five country hubs are the US, India, the UK, Germany, and Canada, which indicates geographical diversity. The Asia Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR in the VR market. In addition, the leading city hubs include London, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Bangalore.
A Snapshot of the Global Virtual Reality Industry
The virtual reality industry shows metrics that reflect its growth and market presence. The industry currently employs 1.3 million people, with an addition of 120 000 new employees in the last year alone. Additionally, researches show VR training has been found to drive a 76% increase in learning effectiveness compared to traditional methods.
This growth indicates an expanding workforce. The sector includes over 29 000 companies, highlighting its adoption and the presence of numerous players driving innovation and development.
Explore the Funding Landscape of the Virtual Reality Industry
Investment activity in the virtual reality sector is high, with an average investment value of USD 15.1 million per round. Notably, VR content spending reached USD 904 million in 2024 and is forecast to grow to USD 1.3 billion by 2029.
The investment per round underscores the financial backing and confidence in the industry’s potential. The sector has also attracted more than 2500 investors. It emphasizes the interest and support of the investment community.
Moreover, 10 800+ funding rounds have been closed, which provides a continuous influx of capital to fuel growth and innovation. In addition, more than 3500 companies have received investments.
Who is Investing in Virtual Reality?
The combined investment value by the top investors in the virtual reality industry exceeds USD 1.8 billion, reflecting financial commitment and confidence in the sector’s potential. Here are the top investors and their contributions:
- Andreessen Horowitz invested USD 413.3 million in 11 companies. A location-based VR startup, Sandbox VR received a USD 37 million series B investment led by Andreessen Horowitz.
- Coatue Management invested USD 205 million in 4 companies. It conducted a USD 145 million funding round for Rec Room, a social VR gaming platform.
- Kakao Games invested USD 203.5 million in 2 companies.
- Tencent invested USD 180 million in 5 companies. It invested around USD 50 million in this UK-based company that provides sensors and software for gesture recognition and touch-free haptic feedback.
- SoftBank Vision Fund invested USD 171.7 million in 4 companies.
- Highland Europe invested USD 145 million in 2 companies. A virtual cycling and running platform Zwift secured USD 120 million investment led by Highland Europe. While not exclusively a VR company, Zwift provides immersive virtual experiences for cyclists and runners.
- Sequoia Capital invested USD 130.9 million in 7 companies.
- BlackRock invested USD 129 million in 2 companies.
- Accel invested USD 122.8 million in 3 companies.
- Index Ventures invested USD 119 million in 4 companies. It held a USD 2.5 million seed funding round for Immersive Games Lab, which develops immersive group gaming experiences.
Access Top VR Innovations & Trends with the Discovery Platform
The emerging trends in VR are shaping the landscape. Here are a few of them along with the firmographic insights:
- Interactive Virtual Reality (IVR) is a trend with 790 companies identified in this segment. The workforce in this area consists of over 16K employees, with 2K new employees last year. The annual trend growth rate for IVR is 7.57%.
- Motion Tracking is gaining momentum, with over 360 companies specializing in this area. The total number of employees exceeds 5K, with 870+ new employees added last year. The annual trend growth rate for motion tracking stands at 5.86%.
- Haptic Technology is emerging as a crucial component of the virtual reality industry, with over 130 companies focusing on this field. The total workforce in haptics includes over 4K employees, with 490+ new hires in the past year. This sector has an annual trend growth rate of 8.62%, indicating rapid advancements and adoption.
5 Top Examples from 3600+ Innovative Virtual Reality Startups
The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a platform demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.
VRAIn provides a 5D Ecography Visualization Tool
Spanish startup VRAIn provides ECO 5D, an ultrasound platform that displays pre-natal images in 3D virtual reality. It showcases babies in detail and allows for the exploration of their features from different angles.
Further, ECO 5D integrates with Samsung and General Electric 3D, 4D, and 5D ultrasound machines. VRAIn makes visualization of pre-natal development interactive and engaging.
VRpilot conducts VR Flight Training
Danish startup VRpilot offers VRflow, an interactive cockpit procedure trainer built on VR. It incorporates advanced learning technologies and interactive training scenarios to enhance both initial and recurring training for students and flight crew.
The platform features decision-making training and improves pilot performance during critical moments. It allows pilots to train independently on a self-contained, compact, and portable device. Further, the multi-crew functionality enables remote collaborative training.
Prisms develops Spatial Learning Platform
US-based startup Prisms builds a spatial learning platform where students learn core subjects through abstracting from physical human experiences. The platform features a Live Teacher Dashboard that allows real-time monitoring and feedback.
Prisms’ VR Assistive Agent supports students during critical moments with responsive, multi-modal, spatialized guidance. Moreover, Kinesthetic Skill Building Modules allow students to gain speed and efficiency with procedures after learning concepts.
The modules upgrade the learning experience by providing hands-on practice.
Emperia enables Immersive E-commerce
UK-based startup Emperia develops a commerce-driven platform that allows creators, studios, and enterprises to build and deploy cross-device virtual worlds. The platform’s no-code solution changes game engine 3D models into functional, web, or spatial computing virtual worlds.
It allows brands to maintain an omnichannel VR shopping experience across physical, virtual, and metaverse environments. This approach increases shopper loyalty, brand recognition, and online sales.
Reality Well creates a Virtual Reality Platform for Senior Living
Canadian startup Reality Well offers a virtual reality platform for seniors. The platform includes crafted bucket list experiences and games to aid cognitive decline. The system hosts various applications, an analytics engine, and multi-headset mobile control.
Further, The Companion Mobile App allows healthcare practitioners to control headset content. Its analytics feature tracks user and usage data from mobile or web platforms.
Looking for Comprehensive Insights into VR Trends, Startups, or Technologies?
The 2025 virtual reality industry report highlights a rapidly evolving sector marked by significant growth and technological advancements. The expansion of innovation in areas like interactive VR, motion tracking, and haptic technology shows the industry’s future potential. Get in touch with us to explore all 3600+ startups and scaleups, as well as all industry trends impacting virtual reality companies.
