Seed Funding for VR/AR Specialist Gorilla in the room

Gorilla in the room, which develops virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) products for the market research industry, has received a seed round of funding from Mercia Fund Managers, which it will use to further develop its products and support international growth.

Founded in 2016 and based in Brighton, UK, Gorilla in the room provides researchers with tools to gather data on why and how consumers buy products. Its VR and AR products offer an alternative to traditional MR methods, and allow researchers to immerse people in real life situations, from retail studies in a virtual supermarket to new product development with augmented products.

Led by a management team which includes Chief Scientist Alastair Goode, CTO Tom Painter, and former WPP and Yahoo! exec CEO Jonathan Barrowman, the firm currently works with a number of MR clients including data collection agency Populus Data Solutions, Ipsos, and agencies within the WPP Group. Barrowman says the firm believes that the use of VR and AR will be standard practice across the industry within the next three years.

Commenting on the funding, Mercia Investment Associate Chris Kilroy adds: 'Our investment into Gorilla in the room is the result of Mercia's targeted investment strategy to provide capital and support for emerging companies in this sector. We are highly confident that Jonathan, Alastair and Tom have the unique blend of commercial acumen, domain expertise and development excellence that is necessary to successfully lead this company and revolutionise the way that organisations across the globe carry out market research'.

Web site: www.gorillaitr.com .