Visual Arena

What Visual Arena does

Visual Arena is a publicly funded innovation platform and collaboration hub operating under Lindholmen Science Park AB in Gothenburg, Sweden, founded in 2012. The platform specializes in immersive visualization technologies — including VR, AR, XR, 3D visualization, digital twins, spatial computing, and AI-driven analytics — and operates four sub-brands: Virtual Gothenburg Lab, Narrative XR Lab, Experience to Insights Lab, and Residency for Innovators in Art. It runs projects across cultural heritage documentation, urban digital twins, heavy transport electrification visualization, biodiversity education, and AI-driven environmental analysis, with a small core team of seven specialists including a program lead, technical lead, VR director, senior project managers, and designers.

Visual Arena is base-financed by Västra Götalandsregionen (Västra Götaland Region) and Göteborgs Stad (Gothenburg Municipality), with additional project funding from Vinnova, Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak, and Vetenskapsrådet. It does not sell commercial products; instead, it operates as a neutral platform that initiates projects, aggregates expertise across academia, industry, and the public sector, and provides access to physical labs, a mobile XR lab, and event programming. Its customers and partners are concentrated in the public sector, research institutions, cultural organizations, and mission-driven NGOs — including Göteborgs Stad, University of Gothenburg, Chalmers, Norsk Polarinstitutt, Greenpeace, and Mistra BIOPATH — with growing European reach through initiatives such as Immersive ECHO.

Name

Visual Arena

Legal name

Visual Arena

Website

https://visualarena.lindholmen.se

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Visual Arena is a publicly funded innovation platform under Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg that drives projects in immersive visualization, XR, digital twins, and AI-driven analytics for public sector, research, and creative industry partners across Sweden and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immersive Visualization Collaboration Platform

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time) (MPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

VR/AR Gaming Platforms (BPAMAKAG), VR & Immersive Esports/LBE Venues (VR Arenas, Sim Racing Pods) (MPAFALAE)

Keywords

• Immersive visualization platform
• Extended reality collaboration
• Digital twin testbed
• XR innovation lab
• Visualization co-creation

Headquarters

HQ city

Gothenburg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Base Funding: Visual Arena is base-financed by Västra Götalandsregionen (Västra Götaland Region) and Göteborgs Stad (Gothenburg Municipality). The platform operates as a publicly funded innovation initiative rather than a commercial entity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Visual Arena is a neutral collaboration platform and innovation hub that initiates, coordinates, and runs projects applying immersive visualization technologies (VR, AR, XR, digital twins, AI-driven analytics) to urban planning, transport electrification, cultural heritage preservation, climate communication, and educational engagement. It provides physical test environments, creative labs, and project services to public-sector bodies, universities, research institutes, creative organizations, and industry partners, rather than selling commercial software.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Virtual Gothenburg Lab: A digital test environment for developing the usability and accessibility of Gothenburg City's digital twin
• Narrative XR Lab
• Experience to Insights Lab
• Residency for Innovators in Art

Products and services

• Virtual Gothenburg Lab Digital twin test environment and collaboration space for developing the usability and accessibility of Gothenburg's city digital twin, enabling urban planning, governance, citizen services, and simulation of human behavior using real-time sensor data and AI agents. For use by Göteborgs Stad, regional authorities, industry, and academia.
• Narrative XR Lab Creative laboratory for artistic storytelling in Extended Reality, combining workshops, prototyping, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Used by artists, cultural organizations, NGOs such as Greenpeace, and creative-industry partners to develop XR narratives and immersive installations.
• Visual Scale Advanced visualization toolkit (2D dashboards and 3D Unreal Engine scenes with AI chat) for electrified heavy-transport and charging-infrastructure planning, scenario simulation, and cross-sector decision support. Built for transport operators, energy providers, grid operators, and policy makers, co-developed with CLOSER.
• Expanderad Refotografi (Extended Rephotography) Visual storytelling method and VR experience combining historical and contemporary photography, 360°/180° video, 3D scanning, and VR prototyping to visualize climate-change effects over time. Developed with research partners including Norsk Polarinstitutt for use in climate communication and public engagement.
• Immersive Sweden (formerly XR Sweden) National, neutral, and inclusive platform that brings together, coordinates, and catalyses the development of immersive technologies in Sweden, including a mobile lab that brings XR technology to schools, companies, municipal offices, and cultural centers across the country, and a joint digital platform for immersive-intelligence use cases, knowledge, and actors.
• Immersive ECHO Cross-border EU programme and consortium developing immersive experiences for shared cultural heritage, coordinated by Visual Arena together with Xperience Next and bringing together 15 partners from 9 EU countries and Ukraine. Includes audience research, persona development, prototyping, and a design brief for future cultural-heritage experiences.
• Framtidsförmåga i praktiken (Futures Capability in Practice) Organizational development programme that combines foresight, innovation methodology, and visualization to help organizations build resilience, explore opportunities, and translate insights into action. Delivered through the Visual Arena Partner+ offering in collaboration with Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of surveyed organizations rate immersive intelligence as very important for their future operations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered founding partner, core partner and partner.

• Göteborgs Stadfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGöteborgs Stad (Gothenburg Municipality) is a founding partner of Visual Arena, providing base financing alongside Västra Götalandsregionen. The city collaborates on digital twin development (Virtuella Göteborg) and urban innovation projects through Virtual Gothenburg Lab.
• Västra Götalandsregionenfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerVästra Götalandsregionen (Västra Götaland Region) is a founding partner providing base financing to Visual Arena. The region supports regional innovation initiatives including climate projects and XR development.
• Göteborgs universitetfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Gothenburg is a founding partner contributing research expertise, particularly in digital humanities, cultural heritage documentation, and artistic research through HDK-Valand.
• Chalmers tekniska högskolafounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerChalmers University of Technology is a founding partner providing technical expertise in engineering, technology development, and research collaboration.
• Lindholmen Science Parkfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerLindholmen Science Park hosts Visual Arena and is a founding partner, providing the physical innovation platform and connecting industry, academia, and society.
• Epicentercore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerEpicenter co-leads the XR Sweden feasibility study with Visual Arena, funded by Vinnova, to build a national XR ecosystem in Sweden.
• Gothenburg Film Studioscore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerGothenburg Film Studios collaborates with Visual Arena on Narrative XR Lab and immersive installations, contributing film production expertise and venue access.
• CLOSERcore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLOSER (Lindholmen Science Park innovation program) co-developed Visual Scale project with Visual Arena for electrified transport visualization, funded by Interreg ÖKS.
• Högskolan i SkövdepartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerHögskolan i Skövde (University of Skövde) collaborates with Visual Arena on Narrative XR Lab, contributing academic expertise in game development and interactive media.
• Mistra BIOPATHpartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerMistra BIOPATH collaborated with Visual Arena on the GULD project for biodiversity education, providing research expertise on biological pathways and environmental economics.
• Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitetpartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerHandelshögskolan (Gothenburg School of Economics) partnered with Visual Arena on the Matplikten speculative design project exploring future food systems.
• Svenska Ambassaden i Buenos AirespartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish Embassy in Buenos Aires serves as external support partner for spreading results of Antarctic cultural heritage documentation project and exhibition.
• Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS)partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFS collaborates with Visual Arena on futures studies projects including Framtidsförmåga (Future Capability) initiatives.
• UniverseumpartnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniverseum collaborates on Arctic climate research visualization and future plans for digital Svalbard experiences through dome projection technology.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Science Gallery International: An international network of public engagement venues focused on emerging science and technology. Comparable to Visual Arena through its mission of public engagement with frontier technologies, public-sector and institutional backing, and program format combining exhibitions, labs, and residencies.
• V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media: A Dutch art-technology research lab in Rotterdam focused on art, technology, and media innovation. Comparable to Visual Arena through its publicly funded status, focus on emerging media technologies, and role as an interdisciplinary hub supporting artists and researchers working with new media forms.
• Fraunhofer IAO: A German applied research institute focused on human-centric engineering, including visualization, VR/AR, and innovation management. Comparable to Visual Arena through its publicly funded applied research model and focus on visualization technologies and innovation ecosystems.
• Visualization Center C: A publicly funded visualization center in Norrköping, Sweden, hosting exhibitions, labs, and educational programs on visualization technologies. The closest geographic and functional peer — also Swedish, publicly funded, and focused on visualization as a public good — with a similar mix of exhibitions, schools, and partner programs.
• IRCAM: A French publicly funded research institution associated with the Centre Pompidou, focused on music, sound, and technology research. Comparable to Visual Arena through its public funding model, interdisciplinary research on technology-mediated creative expression, and combined research-creation-exhibition mission.
• Ars Electronica Futurelab: A publicly funded R&D unit within Ars Electronica developing future media technologies including VR, AR, AI, and immersive installations, operating as a collaboration hub between art, technology, and society. Directly comparable to Visual Arena's mission as a publicly funded VR/XR/digital-twin innovation platform with the same public-sector funding model.
• Epicenter Stockholm: A Swedish innovation hub in Stockholm hosting accelerators, workspaces, and events for emerging technology including XR. Comparable to Visual Arena through its Nordic location, emerging-tech focus, and innovation-ecosystem role — they are also an active co-partner on the XR Sweden feasibility study.
• ZKM Center for Art and Media: A publicly funded center for art and media technology in Karlsruhe, Germany, focused on immersive media, digital art, and exhibition technology. Comparable to Visual Arena through its public funding model, immersive media focus, and role as a cultural-technology hub hosting exhibitions and residencies.

Regional players

• KTH Royal Institute of Technology: Sweden's leading technical university with research labs focused on visualization, VR, and digital media. Comparable to Visual Arena as a Swedish organization working on visualization and XR, though operating as a university research environment rather than a dedicated public innovation platform.

Emerging players

• National Film Board of Canada: A Canadian public film and creative-content agency known for pioneering XR/VR storytelling and immersive documentary production. Comparable to Visual Arena through its public funding model and pioneering work in immersive media, though focused primarily on content production rather than platform facilitation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visual-arena-lindholmen
• Instagraminstagram.com/visualarena

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Visual Arena