EWOR’s EUR 1.62m investment in London-based Gracia AI is a clear signal that volumetric video and spatial computing are shifting from experimental R&D to commercially deployable infrastructure.
The early-stage round – around USD 1.7m – backs what Gracia AI calls the first full‑stack infrastructure for 4D Gaussian Splatting (4DGS), a new approach to volumetric video that has quickly gained traction in visual effects, big tech R&D and high‑end entertainment.
From research novelty to production pipeline
4DGS has, until recently, lived mainly in research labs and innovation teams. Gracia AI’s platform is designed to change that, offering an end‑to‑end stack that lets studios and developers capture, process and distribute volumetric video at production scale.
The technology is already being adopted in VFX pipelines, Hollywood‑grade content workflows and creative projects such as fashion runway shows and theme park attractions. That real‑world usage is critical: it shows 4DGS is not just a promising codec but a viable medium for commercial experiences.
Gracia AI’s core proposition is performance and practicality:
- Real‑time playback of volumetric content on standalone headsets such as Meta Quest 3/3S and Pico 4 Ultra, with no PCVR or external hardware.
- Targeted 72 FPS on Quest and around 100 FPS on Apple Vision Pro, bringing high‑fidelity, six‑degrees‑of‑freedom video into consumer‑grade devices.
- Efficient handling of ~1GB per minute files with natural parallax, stable motion and fine detail – characteristics needed for demanding use cases like sports, film and live entertainment in spatial computing.
By packaging this into SDKs, Unity/Unreal plugins and on‑device rendering, Gracia AI is positioning itself as infrastructure rather than another content studio. That distinction matters for mid‑market investors looking for scalable picks-and-shovels plays in XR.
Why this matters for mid‑market investors
While the cheque size – EUR 1.62m – sits at the lower end of the mid‑market radar, the signal value is high:
- Spatial computing is entering its infrastructure phase. The first wave focused on headsets and flagship apps. The next relies on middleware and tooling that make advanced formats like volumetric video manageable for studios, sports rights holders and brands.
- 4DGS is emerging as a serious volumetric standard. Adoption in big tech R&D and VFX workflows suggests this is not a fringe codec. A dedicated full‑stack provider with real‑time, on‑device performance is well placed as demand shifts from pilots to pipelines.
- Europe is carving out a niche in XR tooling. London‑based Gracia AI adds to a growing list of European startups building enabling tech – capture, compression, rendering – rather than competing directly with US and Asian hardware giants.
For EWOR, which backs high‑growth technology founders, Gracia AI offers exposure to the upside of spatial computing without betting on a single consumer application. The company’s focus on SDKs and plugins aligns with B2B software economics and a potentially broad customer base spanning VFX studios, sports broadcasters, live event producers and theme parks.
Execution risk and upside
The risks are clear and manageable:
- Market timing: Spatial computing hardware adoption is still building. However, early uptake by Hollywood, VFX houses and big tech R&D provides a professional market that can sustain growth before mass consumer usage peaks.
- Standardisation battles: Volumetric formats are not yet settled. Gracia AI’s bet on 4DGS is mitigated by its focus on performance and tooling; if 4DGS remains a leading technique in production, its infrastructure becomes sticky.
- Platform dependency: Reliance on third‑party ecosystems (Meta, Apple, Pico) is inherent to XR. Gracia AI’s cross‑platform support and on‑device rendering reduce exposure to any single vendor’s roadmap.
On the upside, if volumetric video becomes a default asset class for sports, concerts and cinematic XR, the need for high‑performance, device‑ready infrastructure is structural. In that scenario, a specialist like Gracia AI can scale well beyond its current seed‑stage profile.
A clear trend marker for 4D content
In the broader context of European mid‑market tech, the deal underlines a shift: investors are starting to back deep, infrastructure‑level plays in XR and spatial computing, not just content studios or consumer apps.
Gracia AI’s raise is modest in absolute terms but significant as a marker that 4D Gaussian Splatting has crossed the threshold from research topic to investable production technology. For M&A and growth investors tracking the next wave of media infrastructure, this is a space that now demands a watchlist.