The extended reality (AR/VR) market has a new XR therapeutic powerhouse after XRHealth and Barcelona-based Amelia Virtual Care announced plans to merge into a new company capable of addressing both physical and mental health issues.
The combined company will retain the XRHealth branding as it becomes the largest XR therapeutics platform in the world, used by over 2,500 physicians globally and generating $7M+ in annual revenue.
XRHealth operates virtual therapeutic care rooms that allow patients with complex conditions (i.e. Parkinson’s, MS, chronic pain, fibromyalgia) to receive treatment from a medical professional without having to leave their homes.
- Since its founding in 2016, XRHealth has raised $35M and counts XR hardware manufacturers such as LG and HTC among its shareholders.
- XRHealth isn’t in the hardware business, but the platform is compatible with most commercially available devices. XRHealth CEO shared a nice look at how far that tech’s come recently.
Amelia Virtual Care takes a different approach, offering a VR platform with over 140 environments intended to treat anxiety, OCD, ADHD, and different phobias through systematic desensitization or Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET).
- VRET sessions last around 20 minutes, and physicians can access the content library for a monthly subscription “like a Netflix for mental health professionals.”
In an interview with PlantaDoce, Amelia CEO Xavier Palomer acknowledged that a difficult funding environment makes partnerships more necessary than ever, and that the merger will help consolidate costs and offer bundles between their clients.
- Palomer went on to say that the combined company now expects to break even in 2024, and that “nuestros objetivos concuerdan con un posible salto al parqué en 2025” – which if your Castilian’s a little rusty means we could have a Nasdaq debut in a couple years.
The Takeaway
After an early adopter craze led to a decent sized bubble in extended reality tech, a growing body of clinical evidence and strategic mergers like XRHealth are setting the stage for a new wave of growth… not to mention extended reality is one catalyst away from really breaking mainstream. By combining XRHealth’s virtual care rooms with Amelia’s VRET content library, the new XRHealth is making sure it’s positioned as well as possible to catch that wave when it gets here.
