Gracia leverages AI to deliver a new type of content – ultra-photorealistic volumetric videos. Gracia follows a thesis which drove my investments into ShapesXR and Graswald => essentially immersive content (3D/XR) as the end output and new interface for AI generated content.
A problem that VR faces right now is a lack of content for non-gaming users. Beyond gaming, VR feels like it lacks a reason for people to come back and this limits growth. Gracia leverages Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs) - an AI approach that allows ultra-photorealistic 3D reconstruction. I believe that this technology has high potential to significantly improve content immersiveness across several industries - e.g., sports - and that this will help to solve the lack of content in VR right now. Check out their post on Gaussian splatting video in VR here.
Founding Team - Georgii & Andrey
As mentioned in my post previously, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into the motivation and the makeup of this founding team, with help from my friend and fellow VC
What core motivations and personal experiences are fuelling your journey to build Gracia?
“We love building products that people enjoy using. Our previous experience has led us to believe that we are quite good at delivering great solutions that make people's lives better. With Gracia, having the technology at hand, it was clear that we needed to ship it to the mass audience so people can enjoy this new type of content, comparable only with the offline experience.”
How does Gracia align with your personal passions or sense of purpose?
“It seems to us that people like us are drawn to building startups instead of launching more traditional businesses because they are inspired by the idea of creating something brand new. It's a truly great feeling to see that you are developing a completely new industry.”
When was the first time you created something and made money from it?
“My partner and I have been friends since we were in the 7th grade. Ever since I can remember, we were constantly discussing business ideas. However, lacking money and experience, we started our careers in different fields. I went to McKinsey while my partner joined Prisma Labs. After gaining a few years of experience and maturing in our careers, we launched our first startup at the age of 24. We were fortunate to make it successful and achieved an exit just two years after its launch.”
Have you faced any doubts or fears in this process, and how have you addressed them?
“We were fortunate to be able to balance our full-time jobs with the early stages of our first project. This allowed us to test the waters before fully committing to it. Later, I realised that most career coaches advise their clients to cautiously explore their passions while maintaining their current job, rather than leaving it abruptly. Sometimes, this approach helps in understanding that a certain interest, like enjoying wine, is merely a hobby and not necessarily a career path. More importantly, this method gives you the courage to take the initial steps towards following your passion. These initial steps are often the most challenging.”
How do you solve conflicts or differences of opinion amongst yourselves?
“Regarding decision-making: It's a rare case when we have the same opinion on an issue. Healthy debates are our way of finding balance. We don’t make important decisions unless we exchange arguments and find a middle ground. Having known each other for 15 years, I sometimes feel that we can predict each other’s positions and arguments in advance. It allows us to be well-prepared for our discussions in advance :)”
How do you define success for yourself and for Gracia?
“When a company significantly impacts people's lives or habits, sometimes its name becomes a verb (like 'to google') or a noun (such as 'Pampers' or 'Xerox'). We were fortunate to experience this with our previous startup in our local market. I observed random people referring to all QR codes for tipping by our brand's name. It's such a rewarding feeling and a clear indicator of your impact and your company's success. We hope to achieve something similar with this ambitious international project.”
Gracia has raised over 50% of their pre-seed. Contact Georgii (Co-founder and CEO) if you’re keen to chat - georgii@gracia.ai
Deck here.