Oxford VR sizes up $4.3m

Oxford VR, a UK-based virtual reality mental health application spinout of University of Oxford, has attracted £3.2m ($4.3m) in a round backed by the university and its venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), UKTechNews reported today.
Venture firms GT Healthcare Capital Partners and Force Over Mass also supplied Oxford VR with funding, along with RT Capital.
Founded in 2017, Oxford VR develops digital health applications that treat mental health conditions with clinically-validated psychological content delivered through the medium of virtual reality (VR).
The spinout’s first product is a VR application for height phobia that features a computer-generated avatar who guides the user through a cognitive treatment program that challenges defensive behaviours and encourages the evaluation of the person’s threat predictions.
During controlled trials, Oxford VR’s program reduced fear of heights by an average of 68%. It is now being used in selected publicly-owned health clinics.
Oxford VR will pump the cash into efforts to drive growth and bring clinically-validated VR technologies to market. Other mental health products the spinout has in the works include applications for social anxiety and psychosis.
The therapeutic element of Oxford VR’s concept extends research led by Daniel Freeman, a professor of clinical psychology at University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry.
David Norwood, co-founder of OSI, said: “Mental health problems are incredibly common, debilitating and costly to society. Yet only a fraction of the people who need them have access to the treatments that work.
“We believe Oxford VR can make a huge contribution here, dramatically improving the lives of millions of people around the world. OSI is proud to have been involved from day one and we look forward to helping the company achieve long-term, lasting success.”