November 23, 2022 – inCitu, a NYC-based company that brings future physical developments to life via augmented reality (AR), has this week announced USD $1 million in funding support from Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt, in addition to another USD $1 million from other notable investors and initial customer traction.
The company enables informative public-facing AR visualizations of proposed and upcoming development projects, with customers across the US comprising cities, real estate developers, technology companies, and other stakeholders in the future of urban development.
“City planning is too slow, obscure, and expensive for the pace of development required in cities today,” said Dana Chermesh-Reshef, Founder & CEO of inCitu. “Facing climate change, severe housing shortage, public health threats, mass urbanization and major geo-political shifts, cities worldwide must adapt fast and effectively, but the obsolete systems prevent equity in the design and decision making process, leading to a lack of trust, collaboration and inclusivity amongst residents and industry professionals.”
inCitu allows anyone to see and explore how the built environment is changing around them, in real scale, in-situ. The company’s platform turns data into informative, accurate visualizations of future skylines and buildings, and makes that data available to both technology companies and any individuals interested in the visualizations.
With a goal of lowering the friction for city dwellers to access city planning information, all of inCitu’s content – from individual buildings, affordable housing, mixed use developments, through parks and bridges and to complete neighborhood rezoning and regional infrastructure – are available via mobile-AR, with no headsets or special devices required.
In 2020, inCitu’s Founder & CEO was one of six impact entrepreneurs selected to join Schmidt Futures’ Entrepreneur-In-Residence program. This Fall, after concluding the two-year program, Schmidt Futures provided the $1M funding to inCitu, adding to the company’s pre-seed funding from at.inc/, CityBldr, Global Futures Group, H/L Ventures, the WXR Fund, amongst other strategic investors from the real-estate and smart cities worlds. In 2022, inCitu signed two key partnerships with Snap Inc. and Esri, amplifying the company’s data and impact through the platforms.
The company recently achieved a milestone wherein one of its AR visualizations of a real, under-review Midtown Manhattan development proposal reached more than 100K residents, making it the most visible planning proposal in the history of city planning, according to the company.
Another project that inCitu recently launched was created in partnership with Snap and the Annenberg Foundation and was for the world’s largest wildlife crossing, which will be completed in 2025 in California. The project is now accessible in AR to all neighbors and visitors throughout its construction, thanks to inCitu’s platform.
“With the support of global leaders in technology and real estate, inCitu is poised to help democratize and revolutionize how citizens visualize the future of their own neighborhoods and cities,” added Chermesh-Reshef. “We are restoring trust and transparency into how cities, developers, communities, and technology companies interact to allow for urban development.”
The company noted that through building momentum, strategic funding, and partnerships, it is constantly onboarding more cities and development projects, with the hopes of driving inclusive, highly accessible urban change.
For more information on inCitu and its augmented reality visualization solutions for real estate developments, please visit the company’s website.
Image / video credit: inCitu / YouTube
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.