XR technology company Varjo and simulation data company VRAI announce strategic partnership to transform military personnel training.
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Press Release, London, 14 April 2026: Varjo, the industry leader in mission-ready virtual and mixed reality (XR) technology, and VRAI, the Irish headquartered simulation data company leading in human performance analytics, today announced a strategic partnership to transform how militaries train their personnel.
Modern defence forces face a compounding challenge: the demand to train more personnel, faster, is growing, but traditional live training is expensive and constrained by instructor and equipment availability. The collaboration between Varjo and VRAI directly addresses this gap by bringing together Varjo’s secure virtual and mixed reality technology and VRAI’s biometric data and performance analytics. The result is a complete training intelligence platform combining immersive simulation with real-time human performance data, purpose-built for modern defence training needs.
For the first time, instructors can see not just what happened in a scenario, but what is driving the performance of the individual or crews going through the training. VRAI’s technology can capture indicators such as cognitive load, physiological stress, and shifts in attention. An instructor with this data can intervene earlier, give more precise feedback, and make readiness decisions that were previously out of reach.
As part of the partnership, VRAI will become an authorised reseller of Varjo technology, and Varjo will offer VRAI’s HEAT software to its customer base. All Varjo customers will have the opportunity to leverage a starter version of HEAT’s data capture and visualisation capabilities directly within their existing simulation environments from May 2026 onwards, which will be previewed at this year’s ITEC.
“The world has changed, and how we train our personnel has to change with it,” said Pat O’Connor, CEO and co-founder of VRAI. “We have seen how our customers in Ireland have combined Varjo and HEAT solutions to transform how they deliver armour crew training, and this partnership is how we bring this solution to defence customers at scale. We are empowering instructors with actionable insights into what is driving performance, and Varjo’s technology is a big part of why we can do that.”
“We built immersive simulation technology to put people inside scenarios that matter, and VRAI tells you exactly what happened to them when they got there. Together, we can deliver training that gets smarter with every session, because each one generates data that makes the next one better,” said Valentin Storz, Chief Revenue Officer at Varjo.
VRAI’s HEAT platform treats human performance data as an untapped instructional resource. Powered by Varjo’s eye tracking and integrated biometric monitors, the software can capture what happens during a simulation — heart rate, eye movement, control inputs, communications — and displays it in a near real-time dashboard. Varjo’s high-precision eye tracking enables HEAT to calculate cognitive load, giving instructors a physiological read on how a trainee experienced a scenario, what is actually driving performance, and not just what they did.
The partnership builds on existing first joint deployments with customers such as Rheinmetall and the Irish Defence Forces, where armour crews train weekly using Varjo XR headsets, HEAT software, and integrated heart rate monitors. Training has been scaled without increasing instructor workload, with the instructor-to-trainee ratio improving from approximately 1:3 to 1:12. The data generated is informing training outcomes in Ireland and building a body of knowledge applicable to crew training programs worldwide.
Varjo x VRAI – Data-Driven Insights for Military Training: The two companies are demonstrating joint solutions at ITEC in London, UK, on April 14–16. Varjo and VRAI will also establish flagship demo showcases in Munich, Helsinki, Dublin, Arlington (DC), and Orlando.
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