Wearable tech firm StretchSense has secured $2.3 million (£1.75m) in a fresh investment round led by PXN Ventures to accelerate the global rollout of its XR training glove, designed to let organisations immerse employees in realistic virtual environments.

The wearables firm, which announced plans to double its Edinburgh headcount earlier this year, aims to deliver a lifelike training experience, building real-world skills enhanced by haptic technology that creates realistic sensations using vibrations when touching digital objects 

The new funding from PXN, supported by Scottish Enterprise, will help the firm to expand its reach across sectors ranging from healthcare and education to aviation and defence, with StretchSense engaging several global partners about licensing opportunities for the XR games consumer market. 

To date, StretchSense has raised almost $20 million (£14.9m) through three external rounds, with the company poised to take its share of the overall virtual training and simulation market, projected to reach around $265 billion (£198bn) by 2030. 

While the firm’s hardware and manufacturing operations are located at its home base in Auckland, New Zealand, StretchSense’s management, software, and marketing teams are based in Edinburgh, with the company also having “centres of excellence” in San Francisco and Xiamen, China.

“StretchSense is perfectly placed to become one of Scotland’s most successful technology businesses, with a global footprint aligned with significant market opportunities worldwide,” said Paul Atkinson, StretchSense’s chair.

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This latest investment follows a busy period for the firm, with StretchSense welcoming two fresh faces to its C-suite, including CEO Chris Chapman, who was previously an investor director with the company, and Philip Jamison, who joins as chief revenue officer. 

Chapman brings extensive experience in wearable technology, having co-founded global wearables business ElekSen, backed by Logitech and Siemens, before going on to list on the AIM market in London, while Jamison previously helped to grow XR business Avantis Systems in the US to over $25 million in revenue.

“With fresh investment, StretchSense is looking ahead to 2026 with the aim of scaling breakthroughs that will shape the next generation of XR training – making XR training physical as well as virtual for better learning experiences,” said Chapman.