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Based in San Francisco, California, Enklu provides a cloud-based platform for creating, publishing, and managing location-based augmented reality experiences that blend digital content with physical spaces. The company licenses its headset-based technology and content platform to entertainment venues, museums, arcades, and malls, enabling operators to design immersive attractions without requiring proprietary hardware. Operating with a team of 20 employees, the software supports tens of thousands of users and generates millions of monthly impressions across 11 to 25 global markets. Enklu has collaborated with Snap on next-generation AR glasses, won the Startup to Watch award at AWE 2025, and powers attractions like Verse Immersive. This specific attraction recently expanded to over 20 United States locations and generated $1.5 million in quarterly ticket sales for the growing business. The augmented reality enterprise was officially founded in 2016.
Enklu has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Enklu has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Enklu is a San Francisco-based technology company founded in 2016 that builds an end-to-end platform for creating, collaborating on, and managing augmented reality (AR) content with no-to-minimal coding required.[1][2][5] Dubbed the "Canva of AR," it serves creators, operators, and businesses in manufacturing, media, entertainment, education, and technology by enabling intuitive AR experiences for employee training, product marketing, immersive art, and supply chain enhancements, often paired with VR hardware like Microsoft HoloLens.[1][5] Enklu powers location-based attractions like Verse Immersive centers (e.g., in Chicago, Orlando, Denver), hosts tens of thousands of users generating millions of monthly impressions across 3 countries and 11 markets, and supports cross-platform deployment on web, mobile, UWP, WebGL, Windows, Android, and iOS.[2][3][5]
The platform's growth includes investments from Motivate Venture Capital in 2020, expansion into award-winning "spatial verses" for social entertainment, and integration of generative AI for spatial computing, positioning it as a leader in headset-based AR with tools like Enklu Editor, Cloud, Player, and Social features.[1][2][5]
Enklu was founded in 2016 in San Francisco, emerging from the need for accessible AR tools amid complex, code-heavy alternatives like Photoshop equivalents for spatial design.[1][2] Key leadership includes experts like Mike, a chief technologist with decades in developer tools, cloud services (e.g., AWS, Veritas), 44 patents, and ISO C++ standards contributions, who drives generative AI integration for scalable spatial experiences.[2] The company gained early traction through its cross-platform runtime using Unity, C#, Node.js, React, and cloud backends (initially Azure VMs), addressing deployment pains that scaled with a tenfold user surge.[4]
Pivotal moments include 2020 investment by Motivate Venture Capital, launches of Verse Immersive centers starting in Chicago and Orlando (2023), and Denver expansions, cementing its role in commercial AR attractions.[1][2] These milestones humanize Enklu as a bootstrap from developer frustrations to a global platform democratizing AR for non-technical creators.[5][6]
Enklu rides the spatial computing wave, fueled by AR/VR headset adoption (e.g., HoloLens), generative AI revolutions, and demand for immersive experiences in a post-pandemic entertainment economy.[2][5][6] Timing aligns with maturing hardware, cloud scalability, and AI tools lowering AR barriers—market forces like rising venue tech (e.g., Verse centers) and cross-industry applications (training, marketing) amplify this.[1][4] It influences the ecosystem by powering the U.S.'s largest AR experience chain, enabling non-experts to build "spatial web" content, and bridging digital-physical worlds, much like Canva did for design amid smartphone proliferation.[1][3]
Enklu is poised to dominate headset-centric AR as generative AI supercharges creation and enterprise adoption grows, potentially expanding Verse globally while deepening AI-cloud integrations for multiplayer metaverses.[2][5] Trends like edge computing, mixed-reality hardware refreshes, and social spatial apps will shape its path, evolving its influence from niche attractions to a foundational "Spatial Engine" marketplace.[4][6] With momentum from user scale and reliability upgrades, Enklu exemplifies how accessible platforms unlock AR's mass potential, turning visionary ideas into everyday realities.
Enklu has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in September 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2019 | $3M Seed | — | IrishAngels, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Nonlinear, Stormbreaker, Joseph Aamidor Aamidor Consulting, Marc Lasry | Announced |
Enklu has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Enklu's investors include IrishAngels, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Nonlinear, Stormbreaker, Joseph Aamidor - Aamidor Consulting, Marc Lasry.
