Melbourne tech company bringing virtual reality to isolated people has won the prestigious Victorian Start-up of the Year iAward. SilVR Adventures now goes into the running for the Australian Information Industry Association’s (AIIA) 30th National iAwards, to be announced in Adelaide on August 31.
Founded in 2019, SilVR Adventures’ is striving to end social isolation through meaningful virtual reality experiences. Its technology connects up to forty people at once, immersing them in iconic locations around the world, places from their past or in social settings such as cafes and movie theatres, where they can interact as avatars. The experiences have been introduced into aged-care facilities and hospitals around Australia. Earlier this year, SilVR Adventures struck up a new partnership with Singapore’s largest aged-care provider, St Luke’s ElderCare (SLEC).
SilVR Adventures’ Founder Colin Pudsey said winning the iAward was fantastic recognition for the team and a huge achievement, especially given Melbourne’s vibrant and expansive start-up community. In 2022, nearly 10% of the world’s population were aged 65+ years globally. This segment has been growing at an increasing rate, and it’s expected to hit 16% in 2050, and eventually 24% by 2100. So, there is an abundance of opportunities for SilVR, as we continue to lead the application of VR to older adults across ANZ and recently expanding with international partners too.
AIIA CEO Simon Bush said iAward entrants reflected Australia’s immense talent and the untapped potential of our ICT sector.
““This was a record-breaking year for the iAwards with the most entries received in the last five years, with incredibly high-quality submissions from all entrants,” Mr Bush said. “This has certainly put the judges through their paces. “All entrants deserve recognition for their hard work and brilliant ideas.”
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The iAward adds to SilVR Adventures’ growing list of accolades. The company was a winner in the Future of Ageing Awards 2020, a finalist in the InnovAgeing National Awards 2021 and Eldercare Innovation Awards 2021, a winner of the Monash Business Award in 2022 and was named one of 2021’s top 500 global start-ups.
