Standing out in today’s crowded digital landscape is tough. Many brands struggle to differentiate themselves or scale effectively due to poor marketing strategies and weak go-to-market execution. That’s where Rival steps in — offering businesses fresh challenger marketing approaches designed to supercharge growth and help brands break through competitive markets.
Now, this London-based startup has taken a major step forward. Rival just emerged from stealth with $4.2 million in pre-seed funding led by Speedinvest, alongside New Renaissance Ventures and notable angel investors. While the company kept its valuation under wraps, this funding sets the stage for Rival’s next big move — scaling up its team and expanding across the U.S. market.
Ex-Google and Meta Engineers Power Rival’s Bold Vision for 3D Content
Founded in 2023 by Alexander Oppermann and Konrad Melzer — who previously developed security tech for Germany’s FBI — Rival brings together a team of former Google, Meta, and Amazon engineers. Their mission? Make 3D content creation accessible to millions and fuel the growing spatial computing market.
Oppermann explained how Rival started as a side project. The team simply wanted to create fun 3D content for VR games like Population: One. But they quickly realized just how complex and frustrating 3D content creation was for everyday users. This sparked the idea: build intuitive tools and a powerful platform to empower creators and ease the leap into virtual reality (VR).
Bridging the Content Gap in Spatial Computing
Despite rapid progress in hardware — with devices like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest leading the way — the spatial computing industry faces a major challenge: a lack of engaging 3D content. Without enough immersive experiences, mainstream adoption remains slow.
Yet, the potential is massive. Experts predict the spatial computing market will skyrocket from $110 billion in 2023 to $1.7 trillion by 2033. Rival aims to bridge this content gap with AI-driven tools that lower barriers and invite more creators to the 3D world.
At the heart of Rival’s platform is its groundbreaking 2D-to-3D AI model. Users can browse 3D short-form content directly from their spatial computing headsets — think TikTok or Instagram Reels but fully immersive. More impressively, the platform lets users convert any 2D video into rich, 3D experiences using advanced depth estimation and neural rendering AI. The result? Hyper-realistic 3D content complete with lifelike textures and lighting.
AI-Powered Platform That Unlocks the Future of 3D Content
Oppermann emphasized that Rival was built from day one with AI at its core. “To truly unlock user-generated content in VR, you must solve two problems — production and distribution. It’s tough, and no one else is tackling both sides at once,” he shared.
Rival’s edge lies in this full-stack approach. While other players like YouTube VR focus on individual features, Rival is building an entire ecosystem — from AI tools for creating content to seamless platforms for sharing it.
“Our vision is to become the go-to infrastructure powering the spatial computing era,” Oppermann added. “We’re removing the technical barriers so everyday users can shape the next generation of immersive digital experiences.”
Transforming Industries with Scalable 3D Visualisation
Beyond entertainment, Rival sees vast potential for its technology across industries. From immersive learning and virtual shopping to architecture and medical visualization, Rival’s platform could enable more interactive, engaging 3D experiences everywhere.
Oppermann summed it up: “We’re committed to rolling out tech that empowers users to create AR/VR content effortlessly. Our goal is to unify millions of VR users currently scattered across various platforms and games.”
Backing from Speedinvest to Accelerate the 3D Content Revolution
Investors are taking notice. Victor Huerbe from Speedinvest called spatial computing a market on the verge of explosive growth — with content being the missing piece.
“Rival is solving this challenge with AI that makes 3D creation effortless. What the team has built quietly is game-changing. They’re not just improving existing tools — they’re creating the foundation for how we’ll generate and consume 3D content in the future,” said Huerbe.
With fresh capital and a clear mission, Rival is poised to redefine how 3D content is created, shared, and experienced — unlocking the true potential of spatial computing.
