Virbela

What Virbela does

Virbela builds persistent, cloud-based 3D virtual world platforms for remote work, virtual learning, and virtual events. Its product portfolio spans a downloadable 3D application (Virbela Virtual Worlds), a browser-based no-download counterpart launched in 2024 (Virbela Go), always-on Team Suites for groups up to 200 concurrent users, Private Campus deployments for enterprise-scale custom environments supporting thousands of users, and an AI Training Simulations layer introduced in 2024 that layers generative AI characters and behavioral assessment on top of the virtual world for leadership development. Underlying technology includes spatialized voice communication, WebRTC browser protocols, customizable avatars, and presentation tools, with proprietary architecture that the company reports can sustain thousands of concurrent users without performance degradation.

The company monetizes primarily through recurring subscriptions: per-seat plans for Virbela Go starting at $8-$10/user/month (5-user minimum), custom-priced Team Suites for mid-market and enterprise, and bespoke Private Campus deployments for large organizations, with a 20% discount on annual billing. Go-to-market is hybrid, combining a self-serve product-led growth motion for Virbela Go with an enterprise field sales motion for Team Suites and Private Campus. Virbela was founded in 2012 at a UCSD research lab by organizational psychologists Alex Howland, PhD, and Ron Rembisz, seeded by a $1.75M GMAC grant; it was subsequently part of eXp World Holdings before being reacquired by Howland and Erik Hill and relaunched as independent Virbela LLC in 2024. Its largest customer is eXp Realty, which operates with 85,000+ agents entirely inside Virbela across 22 countries, and the platform also serves universities (UCSD, MIT Sloan, ASU, Davenport), enterprises (PwC, Johnson & Johnson, Fujitsu, VMware, DXC Technology), government/military (U.S. Military JTAC), and event organizers (Laval Virtual).

The company's commercial position rests on its longevity in enterprise virtual worlds (over a decade of R&D), a flagship eXp Realty deployment that validates scale, and the 2024 expansion into self-serve browser-based access and AI-driven behavioral training. Strategic uncertainty is concentrated in two areas: the post-reacquisition independence from eXp World Holdings and the unproven commercial trajectory of AI Training Simulations as a standalone revenue line versus a feature within Private Campus deployments.

Name

Virbela

Legal name

Virbela LLC

Website

https://virbela.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Virbela builds cloud-based 3D virtual world platforms — including a browser-based product and an AI-powered leadership training layer — serving enterprises, universities, and event organizers with remote collaboration, learning, and large-scale events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Virtual Collaboration Platform

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

VR-Based Skills Training Simulations (Soft Skills, Customer Service, Leadership) (EDAFAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual Classroom Platforms (Synchronous Teaching Environments) (EDAFABAA), Virtual Field Trips & Experiential Learning Environments (Museums, Geography, History) (EDAFAJAG), Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Virtual collaboration platforms
• Enterprise metaverse software
• Remote work technology
• Virtual event solutions
• AI training simulations

Headquarters

HQ city

Dartmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Virbela Go Subscriptions: Browser-based virtual world accessible via monthly or annual subscription. Tiered pricing per registered user with Starter ($10/user/month), Pro, and Enterprise plans. 5-user minimum for Starter tier.
2. Team Suites: Private virtual office spaces with plans up to 200 concurrent users and 36 offices per password-protected suite. Includes boardrooms, meeting rooms, reception desk, and breakout areas. Custom enterprise pricing for larger deployments.
3. Private Campus: Full-scale virtual world deployment for corporations, universities, and event companies. Custom pricing tailored to organizational needs with dedicated design support for custom 3D environments.
4. Conference Hall: Event space rental within Team Suites for small events, meetings, or training. Supports up to 200 concurrent users with configurable seating layouts.
5. AI Training Simulations: AI-powered simulation training for leadership development. Pricing included within enterprise subscriptions or sold as add-on capability. Measures real-world behavioral outcomes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Virbela builds 3D virtual world platforms for remote work, distance learning, and online events. The platform is delivered via a downloadable desktop client (Virbela Virtual Worlds) and a browser-based version (Virbela Go) that requires no installation, both featuring persistent campuses, spatialized voice, and support for thousands of concurrent users. It also offers an AI Training Simulations layer that uses generative AI to deliver interactive leadership and communication practice with real-time coaching and behavioral assessment.

Product overview

Virbela is an enterprise metaverse platform offering a unified virtual world system with two deployment options: a full-featured downloadable 3D application and Virbela Go, a browser-based version requiring no downloads. The product portfolio includes AI Training Simulations as a next-generation layer using generative AI for leadership development, Team Suites as always-on virtual office spaces, Private Campus for enterprise-scale custom virtual worlds, and purpose-built solutions for Remote Work, Remote Learning, and Virtual Events. The platform also includes Open Campus as a free public entry point and the Mind Gym as a wellness feature. These products share a common technology stack featuring customizable avatars, spatialized voice communication, presentation tools, and scalable architecture supporting thousands of concurrent users, with AI capabilities enabling interactive simulations and behavioral assessment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Virbela Go: Browser-based virtual collaboration platform that runs without a download, allowing teams and learners to join shared virtual spaces with a single link.
• Virbela Virtual Worlds
• AI Training Simulations
• Private Campus
• Team Suites
• Open Campus

Products and services

• Virbela Go Browser-based virtual collaboration platform requiring no downloads; lets teams and learners join shared virtual spaces instantly via a single link with virtual meeting rooms, event spaces, and social environments with spatialized voice and real-time collaboration tools.
• Virbela Virtual Worlds (Downloadable) Full 3D virtual campus platform delivered as a downloadable desktop application providing persistent virtual worlds for remote work, education, and events with customizable avatars, spatialized voice chat, presentation tools, and support for thousands of concurrent users in fully brandable environments.
• AI Training Simulations Training layer that blends virtual worlds with generative AI to create interactive simulations for leadership development, communication skills, and decision-making practice. AI-powered characters engage users in realistic scenarios with real-time coaching, behavioral feedback, and competency-based assessment.
• Team Suites Always-on private virtual office spaces for teams, supporting plans up to 200 concurrent users and 36 offices per password-protected suite. Includes boardrooms, meeting rooms, reception desk, and breakout areas with brandable environments and spatialized voice chat.
• Private Campus Enterprise-level custom virtual world solution for organizations that need scale, supporting thousands of concurrent users. Organizations can design fully customized 3D environments including campuses, offices, and event venues tailored to specific branding and operational requirements.
• Open Campus Free public virtual world provided by Virbela, accessible via desktop application or Virbela Go browser platform; a common area for all users to explore, attend events, and experience the virtual environment before purchasing private workspace solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85,000+ agents operating at eXp Realty (10x growth from 2016-2018)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Arthur: Arthur offers an enterprise metaverse platform for virtual offices, hybrid collaboration, and team connection. Direct competitor to Virbela Team Suites and Private Campus for always-on distributed-team use cases.
• Spatial: Spatial builds metaverse collaboration and event spaces using WebXR, supporting design reviews, training, and remote collaboration. Comparable to Virbela Go and Private Campus for browser-based immersive meetings and events.
• Sococo: Sococo (acquired by HP) provides a virtual office for distributed teams with always-on spaces, meeting rooms, and presence-based collaboration. Direct competitor in the virtual-office category Virbela Team Suites targets.
• Mursion: Mursion provides AI-powered VR simulations for soft-skills training, leadership development, and communication practice. It is the closest direct competitor to Virbela's AI Training Simulations product, targeting enterprise L&D buyers with similar competency-based behavioral assessment.
• Talespin: Talespin builds an XR-based enterprise training platform with virtual humans for soft-skills, leadership, and frontline workforce simulations. Comparable to Virbela's AI Training Simulations in use case and buyer profile.
• ENGAGE (VictoryXR): ENGAGE is a VR education and training platform used by universities and enterprises for virtual classrooms, lectures, and simulations. Direct peer to Virbela's Remote Learning solution, particularly for higher-ed deployments.
• Gather: Gather offers a 2D/3D pixel-art virtual office platform for distributed teams, events, and casual collaboration. Directly competes with Virbela Go and Team Suites for remote-work and event use cases at lower price points.

Broad incumbents

• Zoom: Zoom has expanded beyond video conferencing into immersive features (Immersive View, Zoom Events) and could move further into persistent virtual spaces. Broad incumbent with deep enterprise distribution competing with Virbela's collaboration and events offerings.
• Microsoft (Mesh / Teams): Microsoft Mesh integrates immersive 3D spaces into Teams, leveraging Microsoft's enterprise distribution to compete with Virbela in meetings, events, and training use cases. Broader incumbent with vastly larger resources.
• Meta (Horizon Workrooms): Meta Horizon Workrooms delivers VR meeting and collaboration experiences on Quest hardware, with Meta's consumer and enterprise reach. Broad incumbent competing in the same enterprise-metaverse category as Virbela.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VirbelaHQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/VirBELA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/virbela
• Instagraminstagram.com/virbelahq

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Virbela