Australian XR Startups Transform Education and Enterprise Training Through Immersive Learning
The 1.9 Million Experience Milestone
Start Beyond, Australia’s leading award-winning virtual and augmented reality studio, has delivered over 1.9 million AR and VR experiences since August 2015 — a figure that underscores how immersive learning has moved from novelty to institutional adoption. Based in Sydney, the company has developed more than 200 VR and AR projects published to over 80 organisations worldwide, building a portfolio that spans STEM, health, retail, and agriculture subjects for K-12 schools, TAFE, and university students.
The company’s Oncio platform, described as a metaverse for education, represents a strategic bet that immersive learning will become a standard component of Australian curricula rather than an optional enrichment activity.
Mindflight7: Scaling XR Education Across the Asia-Pacific
While Start Beyond focuses on content creation, Mindflight7 has built the distribution infrastructure for immersive education at scale. Headquartered in Australia, the company has grown from approximately 22 employees in May 2023 to 35 by August 2026, expanding its footprint across New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and East Africa.
Mindflight7 positions itself as Asia-Pacific’s largest and fastest-growing XR education provider, competing with established edtech players including ReadyTech and EduGrowth. Its growth trajectory suggests that the demand for immersive educational content is not confined to high-income markets but extends across the region’s diverse education systems.
JigSpace: Making 3D Learning Accessible to Non-Technical Users
JigSpace, ranked among Australia’s top three VR/AR startups by StartupBlink, has taken a different approach to immersive learning. The Melbourne-based company’s mission is to create a world where knowledge can be shared in the best possible way, with simple, useful, and delightful tools. Its Jig Workshop platform functions like Canva or PowerPoint for 3D, enabling anyone to create and share interactive presentations — or “Jigs” — that explain complex concepts through augmented reality.
The platform has attracted enterprise users including Medtronic and Hino Trucks, who use it for product marketing, sales training, manufacturing prototyping, and technical support. Niche manufacturers like Swoop Aero and Triangle Waterquip cite its ease of use for non-technical users as a key differentiator. JigSpace has raised $22.6 million in funding, making it one of the best-capitalised immersive learning platforms in the region.
The Enterprise Training Dividend
The most commercially significant application of Australian XR in education may be in enterprise training. The Many’s April 2026 acquisition of a majority stake in CatalystXR was explicitly framed around enterprise transformation, with CEO Damien Eley arguing that immersive technology allows people to “step inside” complex systems and explore scenarios in ways that presentations and documents cannot replicate.
“While immersive technology has often been associated with marketing activations, its use is also expanding into enterprise applications across sectors including mining, healthcare, infrastructure and cultural institutions,” Eley said. CatalystXR has delivered projects across cultural institutions, mining, healthcare, sport, and enterprise, with simulation-based environments increasingly used for safety training, operational planning, and public engagement.
The Market Trajectory
The Australian extended reality market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7% through 2031, with education among the leading application segments alongside gaming, healthcare, and manufacturing. Start Beyond’s 1.9 million experiences and Mindflight7’s regional expansion suggest that immersive learning is not a passing trend but a structural shift in how knowledge is transmitted across the Asia-Pacific.
