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§ Private Profile · Bellevue, WA, USA
Developed enterprise virtual reality software, enabling virtual Windows desktops and infinite monitors for businesses.
Envelop VR was a Bellevue, Washington-based software company that developed productivity and enterprise applications allowing users to interact with virtual Windows desktops and infinite monitors in immersive 3D environments. Before ceasing its operations in early 2017, the startup secured a total of $7.5 million in venture capital funding across multiple rounds, including a $2 million seed round and a $4 million Series A financing round. The company attracted financial backing from prominent venture capital firms and angel investors, including Madrona Venture Group, Alphabet's venture arm GV, and Isilon Systems co-founder Sujal Patel. The enterprise virtual reality developer targeted businesses requiring extended work sessions in virtual spaces, ultimately reducing its corporate headcount to approximately 20 employees prior to its final closure. Envelop VR was officially founded in October 2014 by chief executive officer Bob Berry.
Envelop VR has raised $11.5M across 3 funding rounds.
Envelop VR has raised $11.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Envelop VR has raised $11.5M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.5M Series A Extension in January 2016.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13, 2016 | $5.5M Series A Plus | JOE Kraus, Madrona Venture Group | — | Announced |
| Oct 28, 2015 | $4M Series A | Matt Mcilwain | — | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2015 | $2M Seed | — | Acequia Capital, ACME Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, B Capital Group, BoxGroup, Brainchild, Canaan Partners, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, CRV, Draper Associates, Element Partners, EonCapital, FJ Labs, Founders Co OP, Long Journey Ventures, M13, Madrona Venture Group, Meritech Capital Partners, Moonshots Capital, Pioneer Square Labs, Prefix Capital, Remus Capital, TCV, Techstars, The Finger Group, Third Kind Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, Bart Swanson, Bradley Horowitz, Charlie Songhurst, David Lieb, Grace Stanat, James Haft, Justin Mateen, Matt Shobe, Nicolas Berggruen, Scott Banister, Shervin Pishevar, Fritz Lanman, Geoff Entress, Hank Vigil, Howard Morgan, Rudy Gadre, Shana Fisher, Sujal Patel | Announced |
Envelop VR has raised $11.5M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Envelop VR's investors include Joe Kraus, Madrona Venture Group, Matt McIlwain, Acequia Capital, ACME Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, B Capital Group, BoxGroup, Brainchild, Canaan Partners, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, CRV.
Envelop VR was a Bellevue, Washington-based technology startup founded in 2014 that developed immersive VR software enabling users to interact with Windows desktop applications in a 3D virtual environment.[2][3][5] Targeted at enterprise customers, particularly in engineering-heavy industries like aerospace, automotive, and heavy machinery, it solved the problem of limited physical monitors by allowing infinite virtual screens, CAD software access, and multi-tasking in VR headsets like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, using a webcam for keyboard tracking.[2][3][6] The company raised $7.5 million from investors including Madrona Venture Group and GV (Alphabet's VC arm) but ceased operations in 2017 after staff cuts and challenges with long enterprise sales cycles in the nascent VR market.[2]
Envelop VR was founded in 2014 by Bob Berry, who served as CEO and was also CEO of Bellevue-based video game studio Uber Entertainment.[2][3] The idea emerged to create the world's first fully immersive computing platform, called Envelop Virtual Environment (EVE), bridging existing 2D Windows apps into VR for productivity, starting with a public beta in August 2016 that mapped desktops into a 360-degree virtual sphere.[2][3][5][6] Early traction included a $4 million funding round and focus on engineering use cases, but pivotal challenges arose in 2017: staff reductions from market adjustments and ultimate shutdown after a "rocky year" navigating competition from tools like Virtual Desktop and Microsoft's HoloLens.[2][4]
(Note: A separate Melbourne-based "Envelop Media," founded in 2022, focuses on VR tours with spatial audio but is unrelated to this enterprise VR startup.[1])
Envelop VR rode the early 2010s VR hardware wave (Oculus Rift/HTC Vive launches) aiming to pioneer "immersive computing" for enterprise productivity amid hype around VR/AR unification.[2][3][7] Timing was ambitious but premature: VR headsets faced headset comfort limits (e.g., <30 minutes wear), long enterprise sales for unproven tech, and competition from native VR modes in HoloLens or Steam.[2][3] It influenced the ecosystem by validating VR for 2D app extension, paving the way for modern tools like Virtual Desktop, and highlighting market forces like hardware maturity and enterprise adoption barriers that shaped VR's pivot toward gaming/training over desktops.[2][6]
Envelop VR's 2017 shutdown underscores early VR pitfalls—hardware constraints and sales hurdles—but its vision of VR desktops foreshadowed integrations in Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest productivity modes. No revival is evident post-closure, with founder Bob Berry returning to gaming; its legacy endures in today's spatial computing push. As AI-enhanced VR evolves, similar platforms could resurgence, tying back to Envelop's core bet on immersive work environments transforming enterprise tools.[2][3]