Tilt Five
Tilt Five builds a tabletop augmented reality system (glasses, wand, retroreflective gameboard) that projects shared holograms for multiplayer gaming, education, and enterprise design review, supported by free Unity, Unreal, and C/C++ SDKs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersSanta Clara, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Tilt Five does
Tilt Five, Inc. is a privately held augmented reality hardware and software company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company builds a tabletop AR system composed of lightweight head-worn projection glasses (dual HD 1280×720 LCOS pico-projectors, 110-degree field of view, approximately 100g), a 6-DOF wand controller, and a retroreflective gameboard (XE or LE variants) that reflects projected light back to viewers to create strain-free, naked-eye holographic experiences visible to multiple users simultaneously (up to 4 glasses per device). Its underlying architecture is protected by 10+ granted US patents covering retroreflective light field displays, head-mounted projection, fiducial marker synchronization, and latency compensation.
The company sells hardware primarily through a Game Night Bundle priced at $699 (sale) to $959 (regular), currently shown as out of stock for individual consumers with direct sales routed through partners and institutions. Its software platform consists of free SDKs for Unity, Unreal Engine, and Native C/C++, a Developer Program offering funding, hardware loans, and marketing support, and a 3D Model Viewer application supporting formats such as Catia, SolidWorks, STEP, and GLTF. Distribution channels for software include Steam, Google Play, Itch.io, and GOG.
Tilt Five serves four primary customer segments: casual gamers and tabletop enthusiasts (consumer), educational institutions (UC Santa Cruz, Arizona State University, USC, SmartGames), enterprise users for design review and 3D visualization (Time Team, Nucleus VR, BadVR, Meow Wolf), and game developers integrating Tilt Five support into titles (THREAKS, Polydemons, Catan Studio). Revenue derives from hardware sales and software/game marketplace commissions. The company has raised approximately $9.27M across disclosed rounds in 2019, 2020 (led by SIP Global Partners with BITKRAFT Ventures, EOS VC Fund, Galaxy Interactive, and Logitech), and 2022 (Sunstone Management).
Tilt Five firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tilt Five
- Legal name
- Tilt Five, Inc.
- Website
- https://tiltfive.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tilt Five builds a tabletop augmented reality system (glasses, wand, retroreflective gameboard) that projects shared holograms for multiplayer gaming, education, and enterprise design review, supported by free Unity, Unreal, and C/C++ SDKs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tilt Five industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Augmented Reality Hardware
- NAICS
- Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)
- SIC
- Household Audio & Video Equipment (3651), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)
- akta.pro primary industry
- VR/AR Gaming Hardware (Headsets & Controllers) (HDACANAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AR Smart Glasses (CRACAIAE), AR/MR Headsets for Gaming (CRACAOAF), VR/XR Hardware & Accessories (Headsets, Controllers, Trackers, Haptics) (MPAFAGAG), XR/AR/VR/MR Development Frameworks & Toolchains (MPAFAFAF)
Keywords
Where Tilt Five is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Santa Clara
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tilt Five business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales: Sale of Tilt Five AR system including glasses, wand controller, and gameboard. Game Night Bundle priced at $699 (sale). Individual components available for purchase.
- Software/Game Distribution: Distribution of games and applications through their platform. 3D Model Viewer and other applications available on Steam, Google Play, and other stores. Tilt Five takes commission on sales through their platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Game Night Bundle - Complete AR System |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Games and Applications |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels7 records
Tilt Five product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tilt Five designs, manufactures, and sells an AR hardware and software platform built around a tabletop-based holographic display system. Lightweight AR glasses use dual LCOS pico-projectors to project imagery onto a retroreflective gameboard, which reflects the light back to the viewer's eyes to create natural, eye-strain-free 3D holograms shared by up to four simultaneous users. The company also provides developer SDKs (Unity, Unreal, Native C/C++), a free 3D Model Viewer application, and vertical solutions for enterprise collaboration and education.
Product overview
Tilt Five is an AR (augmented reality) hardware and software platform built around a tabletop-based system designed for crowd-around experiences. The core product lineup consists of the Tilt Five Glasses (head-worn AR display with dual projectors, IR cameras, speakers, and microphone), the Tilt Five Wand (6-DOF handheld controller with haptic feedback), and the Gameboard (retroreflective surface in XE and LE variants). These hardware products are sold as individual components or bundled as the Game Night Bundle. On the software side, Tilt Five provides an ecosystem of SDKs for Unity, Unreal Engine, and Native C/C++, along with the free 3D Model Viewer application for collaborative 3D model review. The Tilt Five Lab showcases community-built experiences. Tilt Five also offers vertical solutions for Enterprise collaboration and Education, each leveraging the same core hardware and software platform with sector-specific applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Tilt Five Glasses Head-worn AR display device with dual HD 1280x720 LCOS pico-projectors, 110° FOV, IR cameras for head and object tracking, integrated stereo speakers, and a microphone. Weighs approximately 100g and connects via USB-C to Windows PCs and Android devices. Powered by the host device with no onboard batteries.
- Tilt Five Wand Handheld motion-tracked controller with 6 degrees of freedom, joystick, trigger, 7 buttons, onboard IMU, 7 infrared LEDs for tracking, LED status light, and haptic motor. Connects to glasses via Bluetooth-like connection. Requires 2 AA batteries. Dimensions 47mm x 320mm x 38mm; weight 88g.
- XE Gameboard Physical play surface made of retroreflective material that reflects projected light back to the viewer, enabling the wide field of view and true 3D holographic effect. Folded 266.67mm x 400mm (10.5" x 15.75"); unfolded 800mm x 1066.7mm (31.5" x 42"). Includes tracking markers, occlusion capability, and a kickstand.
- LE Gameboard Square 800mm x 800mm variant of the Tilt Five gameboard providing the same retroreflective surface, tracking markers, and occlusion functionality as the XE Gameboard in a smaller form factor.
- Game Night Bundle Bundled consumer package combining Tilt Five Glasses, Wand, and Gameboard at a discounted price ($699 sale price vs. $959 regular). Marketed as the primary consumer purchase option for bringing holograms home for multiplayer AR gaming.
- 3D Model Viewer Free standalone application that lets up to three collaborators view, rotate, zoom, pan, scale, and manipulate 3D models in AR on the gameboard. Supports Catia, DWG, GLTF, IGES, Inventor, Parasolid, ProE, Rhino, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, STEP, and STL files. Available on Windows 10, Android (Google Play), and Steam.
- Tilt Five Developer Program Developer support program offering funding, hardware loans, marketing support, and priority technical assistance to qualified developers adding Tilt Five holographic support to their games. Targets multiplayer (couch co-op) games already released or near release with true 3D design, on Windows, Linux, or Android platforms.
- Enterprise Collaboration Solutions Enterprise-focused version of the Tilt Five system targeting design reviews, 3D dataset visualization, and volumetric video playback. Up to 4 collaborators can share the same holographic experience locally per device, with remote collaborators able to connect. Includes the 3D Model Viewer for opening most 3D files and building custom applications. Customers include Time Team, Nucleus VR, BadVR, Meow Wolf, and Cavrnus.
- Education Solutions Tilt Five system configured for educational use, enabling collaborative 3D learning environments for 3D modeling, game design, UX for XR, complex datasets, physics demonstrations, and anatomy. Supports up to 4 users per device. Partners include UC Santa Cruz Games and Playable Media MS program and SmartGames.
Quantifiable outcome
- Market research projects AR board games market growing from $3.61 billion (2024) to $19.22 billion by 2034
Companies that use Tilt Five
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Tilt Five technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
Tilt Five partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.
- THREAKS GmbHcoreAward-winning game studio based in Hamburg, Germany that brought Battle Planet: Judgement Day to Tilt Five platform. Studio reported integration was smooth with 'very little overhead' and 'one of the fastest ports ever'. Collaboration includes camera setup optimization and UI adjustments for Tilt Five platform.
- PolydemonscoreDeveloper of The RPG Engine - a tabletop VTT toolkit coming to Tilt Five. Team described hardware integration as 'a breeze' with small development team. Product designed to bring virtual tabletop RPG experience to holographic tables.
- Imagine RealitiesnotableQueensland-based studio that created immersive educational experience for Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO). Built holographic symphony experience for children using Tilt Five SDK in Unity. Team includes 3D modeler, game designer, Unity programmer, tester, and project manager.
- UC Santa CruznotableUniversity partnership with Games and Playable Media MS program utilizing Tilt Five for educational purposes in game development curriculum.
- SmartGamesnotableEducational games company creating experiences that go beyond textbooks, partnering with Tilt Five for educational applications.
- Catan StudionotableBoard game developer bringing Catan franchise to Tilt Five platform for holographic tabletop gaming experience.
- FigminnotableDevelopment partner creating content for Tilt Five platform.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Tilt Five competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Magic Leap: Mixed reality headset maker that has pivoted toward enterprise AR. Directly comparable as a head-mounted AR platform pursuing spatial computing use cases, though Magic Leap's optics are see-through waveguide rather than retroreflective tabletop projection.
- Vuzix: Vuzix manufactures enterprise-grade smart glasses and AR wearables with waveguide optics for industrial, medical, and logistics use cases. Comparable as a publicly listed AR glasses maker pursuing enterprise and education verticals, with overlapping applications in remote assistance and design review.
- Epson (Moverio): Epson's Moverio line of binocular see-through AR smart glasses targets enterprise, drone piloting, and education use cases. Comparable as a long-standing AR glasses maker selling into the same enterprise and education verticals as Tilt Five, though with see-through optics rather than projection.
- XREAL (formerly Nreal): XREAL makes consumer AR glasses with tethered and standalone models targeting media consumption, gaming, and productivity. Directly comparable as a lightweight AR glasses brand pursuing mass-market consumers with a different optical architecture than Tilt Five's projector-onto-gameboard approach.
- Rokid: Rokid makes consumer and enterprise AR glasses including the Rokid Air and Max lines, pursuing gaming, productivity, and industrial use cases. Comparable as a Chinese AR glasses maker with overlapping consumer gaming and enterprise visualization applications.
Broad incumbents
- Meta (Quest / Reality Labs): Meta Quest VR/MR headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses represent the largest consumer AR/VR competitor. While primarily VR today, Meta's roadmap toward MR co-located experiences and standalone AR glasses directly threatens Tilt Five's addressable consumer and developer markets.
- Microsoft (HoloLens): HoloLens is the dominant enterprise AR headset, used for design review, training, and collaborative 3D visualization — overlapping with Tilt Five's enterprise and education verticals. Microsoft's massive R&D, enterprise distribution, and Dynamics 365 integration make it the principal incumbent competitor.
Emerging players
- Snap (Spectacles): Snap's Spectacles AR glasses target consumer social AR experiences with developer-friendly tools. Comparable as an emerging consumer AR glasses brand pursuing developer ecosystems, though Snap's optics and standalone form factor differ from Tilt Five's tabletop projection approach.
- Creal: Creal is a Swiss startup developing light-field display technology for AR/VR headsets, enabling natural-focus 3D imagery. Comparable as a deep-tech AR optics company pursuing natural-focus holographic viewing — a closely adjacent technical challenge to Tilt Five's retroreflective light field display patents.
- Playdate (Panic Inc.): Playdate is a handheld gaming device with a unique crank and black-and-white screen targeting niche, design-led gamers and indie developers. Comparable as a small-batch, design-forward gaming hardware platform that builds a developer community around differentiated hardware — analogous to Tilt Five's niche-positioned AR gaming system.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tilt Five social profiles
Digital presenceTilt Five financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tilt Five leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Tilt Five funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tilt Five M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tilt Five
What does Tilt Five do?
Tilt Five designs, manufactures, and sells an AR hardware and software platform built around a tabletop-based holographic display system. Lightweight AR glasses use dual LCOS pico-projectors to project imagery onto a retroreflective gameboard, which reflects the light back to the viewer's eyes to create natural, eye-strain-free 3D holograms shared by up to four simultaneous users. The company also provides developer SDKs (Unity, Unreal, Native C/C++), a free 3D Model Viewer application, and vertical solutions for enterprise collaboration and education.
Is Tilt Five a public or private company?
Tilt Five is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Tilt Five founded?
Tilt Five was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tilt Five based?
Tilt Five is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States, in the North America region.
How does Tilt Five make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are software/Game Distribution.
Who are Tilt Five's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Magic Leap, Vuzix, Epson (Moverio), XREAL (formerly Nreal) and Rokid. Broad incumbents are Meta (Quest / Reality Labs) and Microsoft (HoloLens). Emerging players are Snap (Spectacles), Creal and Playdate (Panic Inc.).
Does Tilt Five have an API?
Yes. Tilt Five offers a public SDK for developing content on its platform. Available SDKs include: Unity Plugin, Unreal Plugin (Beta), and Native C/C++ NDK (Beta). The SDKs enable developers to build games and applications for the Tilt Five AR system, supporting platforms including Windows, Linux, and Android. The Unity SDK supports Unity version 2018.3 or later LTS (tested on 2019, 2020, 2021 LTS). No license fees or hardware mark-up for developers. Developer documentation is at docs.tiltfive.com.
What industry is Tilt Five in?
Tilt Five's product category is Augmented Reality Hardware. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACANAD, VR/AR Gaming Hardware (Headsets & Controllers), with a secondary code of CRACAIAE, AR Smart Glasses. Its NAICS code is 33411 and its SIC code is 3651.