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States with the most venture capital investments into woman-led startups

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Propel(x) ranked the top 15 states with the most venture capital investments in women-founded/co-founded startups using data from PitchBook.   
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States with the most venture capital investments in women-led startups

Venture funding in the U.S. reached a record $332.8 billion in 2021, according to the National Venture Capital Association; however, only 2.4% of VC funding went to companies founded by women.

Propel(x) ranked the top 15 states with the most venture capital investments in women-founded or co-founded startups using data from PitchBook. States were ranked based on the total amount of VC funding that went to startups founded by at least one woman since 2018. Additional data points include the total number of VC deals made with startups founded by at least one woman, the percentage of those deals made with startups founded solely by women, and the percentage founded by both men and women.

A quarter of VC deals with startups led by women founders since 2018 went to startups founded solely by women. The other 75% were co-founded by men and women.

Venture capital funding is raised when a startup with growth potential asks investors, investment banks, or VC firms for capital in exchange for equity in the company. As most venture capitalists—those who agree to invest in a company—are men, women founders often face unconscious (or even conscious) biases. 

Fredericksburg, Virginia aerial view at sunset.

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#15. Virginia

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $958 million
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 200
— Share of female and male co-founders: 74.5%
— Share of women-only founders: 25.5%

In 2021, Virginia ranked 14th nationally for the value of venture capital invested in the state. With $2.57 billion in total VC investment, Virginia follows the national trend of investor interest in the software industry. Crunchbase reports 692 women-founded companies with headquarters in Virginia. The state is home to STEAM and cybersecurity education company Chrysallis.AI, which is woman- and disabled-veteran-owned. It’s also the location of the headquarters of Lynk—a company that provides universal mobile broadband via satellites.

Annapolis, Maryland aerial view of buildings and water.

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#14. Maryland

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $969 million
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 191
— Share of female and male co-founders: 75.4%
— Share of women-only founders: 24.6%

There are currently 540 women-founded Maryland-based startups listed on Crunchbase. In the second quarter of 2022, the state bucked the national trend of decreasing VC deals and more than doubled funding for companies in the state. Maryland ranked 16th nationally in total VC funding in 2021, with startups acquiring $2.24 billion in VC funding. Sindano Health is a Software as a Service (SaaS) app focused on LGBT mental health founded by Diversity Equity and Inclusion expert Tara Marshall-Hill. Simpli, with a majority female staff, creates workplace experience apps for companies and landlords.

Minneapolis downtown skyline and bridge in front of pink clouds.

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#13. Minnesota

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $1.0 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 154
— Share of female and male co-founders: 68.2%
— Share of women-only founders: 31.8%

Minnesota venture capitalists tend to focus on early-stage companies, and firms like Matchstick Ventures in Minneapolis invest between $500,000 and $1.5 million in startups. Minnesota companies raised $928 million in the first half of 2022, with a noticeable slowdown in deals between April and June. There are 400 women-founded companies in the state ranging from Vanessa Drews’ sweet Cheesecake Funk to haircare company Odele. Support for women business owners in the Land of 10,000 Lakes includes the Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota. VC firms like the Sofia Fund prioritize women-led companies for angel investing.

Hilly streets and historic buildings leading down to the water in Greenwich, Connecticut.

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#12. Connecticut

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $1.1 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 136
— Share of female and male co-founders: 64.7%
— Share of women-only founders: 35.3%

Connecticut is the only state on this list with more than one-third of its female co-founder deals completed with startups founded solely by women. Connecticut is one of nine states the Treasury Department approved for the State Small Business Credit Initiative. The state is slated to receive $119.4 million to launch two new venture capital funds: one supporting entrepreneurs from “underserved and diverse backgrounds,” and a clean energy fund. Successful women-owned businesses in Connecticut include fintech company WealthConductor.

The state government offers education and funding opportunities for female entrepreneurs, and First Lady Annie Lamont co-founded a company called Tidal River to invest in women-founded companies.

Chicago, Illinois downtown skyline with water in the background and a green park in the foreground

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#10. Illinois

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $1.7 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 371
— Share of female and male co-founders: 72.8%
— Share of women-only founders: 27.2%

PursePower lists nearly 46,000 women-owned businesses in Illinois. In Chicago, a third of roles at VC firms were also held by women in 2021, according to data from Chicago:Blend. One woman-founded firm, Chingona Ventures, focuses on startups founded by women and minorities that often get passed over by traditional VC firms. Entrepreneur found that as of 2020, Genevieve Thiers has received more funding than any other woman founder. The Sittercity founder has secured $48.1 million in investments.

Downtown Charlotte, North Carolina buildings and rows of trees on a sunny day.

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#10. North Carolina

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $1.7 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 242
— Share of female and male co-founders: 74.4%
— Share of women-only founders: 25.6%

Nearly 70% of the $3.6 million in VC funds raised in North Carolina in 2021 went to two firms. WRAL TechWire reports that while the general trend is for VCs to hold more capital in reserve, it’s a good time for early-stage startups in North Carolina to raise capital. The University of North Carolina created a toolkit for women- and minority-led businesses seeking funding. The North Carolina Women Business Owners Hall of Fame was launched in 2018 to honor female entrepreneurs across the state. Last year’s inductees included a trucking CEO, an enterprising women’s magazine founder, and a construction company founder.

Aerial panorama of Allentown, Pennsylvania skyline with trees and hills in the distance.

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#9. Pennsylvania

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $2.0 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 336
— Share of female and male co-founders: 70.8%
— Share of women-only founders: 29.2%

Pennsylvania is one of nine states receiving small business funding through the State Small Business Credit Initiative. The $267.8 million will be spent on small business loans, underserved VC firms, and early-stage tech investment in the Keystone State. The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center offers no-cost consulting and business training to entrepreneurs across 15 centers. The state government also provides a Small Diverse Businesses program to help minority and women-owned businesses compete for government contracts. Women-owned businesses in Pennsylvania include medical technology, media, home healthcare, and real estate companies.

A small town along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

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#8. New Jersey

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $2.4 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 178
— Share of female and male co-founders: 79.8%
— Share of women-only founders: 20.2%

The recently launched New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF) is an attempt to funnel even more money into startups in the state through a public-private partnership. New Jersey companies secured $5.5 billion in 219 VC deals in 2021. The NJIEF was created to “address New Jersey’s shortfalls in venture capital funding and create the conditions necessary for entrepreneurs to succeed.” One standout woman-founded company is Kimberly Noonan’s WindMIL, which raised $32.5 million in Series B funding in 2018.

Sarasota, Florida buildings surrounded by turquoise water.

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#7. Florida

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $2.5 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 398
— Share of female and male co-founders: 74.9%
— Share of women-only founders: 25.1%

With its lack of state income tax and year-round warm weather, Florida is emerging as a business and tech hub. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz recently opened a new office in Miami Beach. Florida has also emerged as a hub for cryptocurrency businesses and hosts the Florida Bitcoin and Blockchain summit. Medical technology is another growing industry. Amy Tseng’s TissueTech, which specializes in regenerative tissue therapies, has raised $110 million in VC funding.

Colorful buildings in downtown Denver, Colorado with mountains in the distance.

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#6. Colorado

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $2.9 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 449
— Share of female and male co-founders: 75.5%
— Share of women-only founders: 24.5%

At 10.39%, Colorado has the highest percentage of women-owned businesses in the U.S., according to a 2022 analysis from banking platform NorthOne. It also has the highest percentage (2.37%) of women who own their own incorporated businesses. Colorado companies, ranging from biotech firm Biodesix to software company Palantir, brought in $6.8 billion overall in VC funding in 2021. In the past decade, Denver’s population has grown 19% as business opportunities have increased.

Seattle, Washington skyline with Mount Ranier in the background.

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#5. Washington

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $4.0 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 556
— Share of female and male co-founders: 77.0%
— Share of women-only founders: 23.0%

Over the last five years, women-led startups in Washington received $481 million in venture capital funding. While 29.9% of businesses in the state are led by a woman, none of Washington’s unicorns (companies valued at over $1 billion) are women-led. The Seattle area has long been considered a tech hub—it’s home to giants such as Microsoft and Amazon. Women-founded companies based in Washington include Skilljar, Unearth Technologies, and Dolly.

Green parks and river in front of downtown Austin, Texas.

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#4. Texas

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $5.6 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 672
— Share of female and male co-founders: 76.0%
— Share of women-only founders: 24.0%

Texas has a very high startup survival rate of nearly 80%. NorthOne bank ranked Texas as one of the top states for women entrepreneurs and reported that the Lone Star state has 1.4 million women-owned businesses. One of those is Pandata Tech, which was co-founded in 2016 by ​​Jessica Reitmeier and specializes in solutions for processing high volumes of time-sensitive data. The company received a $100,000 grant in May 2022 to participate in a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency program to explore solutions for cybersecurity risks.

Downtown Boston, Massachusetts on the water.

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#3. Massachusetts

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $19.6 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 1,067
— Share of female and male co-founders: 83.0%
— Share of women-only founders: 17.0%

Home to Harvard and MIT, the Boston area has become an innovation hub and home to many startups. Women-owned businesses in Massachusetts earn more on average than in any other state at $97,000 per year. Massachusetts is home to startups in the education, biotech, and culinary industries. Co-founder Stefania Mallett expects her company, EzCater, to go public in 2023 after pivoting to serving essential workers during pandemic lockdowns.

Dense buildings in New York, New York.

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#2. New York

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $21.5 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 2,366
— Share of female and male co-founders: 68.8%
— Share of women-only founders: 31.2%

Even with the high taxes, high cost of real estate, and fierce competition, New York City is still home to more company headquarters than any other American city. The New York City Economic Development Corporation partnered with VCs to start the WE Venture fund for seed and Series A funding to women- and minority-owned enterprises. One WE Venture recipient, Jessica Sobhraj, co-founded Cosynd, a copyright-filing app company. Alfred (personal assistance for renters) and Adafruit (electronics manufacturing) are two other industry disruptors led by women in New York.

Silicon Valley buildings in California.

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#1. California

– VC funding for women-led startups since 2018: $69.3 billion
– Number of deals with women-led startups since 2018: 5,091
— Share of female and male co-founders: 77.0%
— Share of women-only founders: 23.0%

California has the most women-led businesses in the country. According to the Census, California had 149,927 women-owned companies which employed more than 1.3 million people in 2018. San Francisco-based MycoWorks makes vegan leather from fungus and was co-founded by Sofia Wang. The company raised $125 million in Series C funding in January, which is being used to open a production plant in South Carolina. Other women-founded companies in the state include Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company and Therese Tucker’s BlackLine.

This story originally appeared on Propel(x) and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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How businesses can protect themselves from the rising threat of deepfakes

Dive into the world of deepfakes and explore the risks, strategies and insights to fortify your organization’s defences

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In Billy Joel’s latest video for the just-released song Turn the Lights Back On, it features him in several deepfakes, singing the tune as himself, but decades younger. The technology has advanced to the extent that it’s difficult to distinguish between that of a fake 30-year-old Joel, and the real 75-year-old today.

This is where tech is being used for good. But when it’s used with bad intent, it can spell disaster. In mid-February, a report showed a clerk at a Hong Kong multinational who was hoodwinked by a deepfake impersonating senior executives in a video, resulting in a $35 million theft.

Deepfake technology, a form of artificial intelligence (AI), is capable of creating highly realistic fake videos, images, or audio recordings. In just a few years, these digital manipulations have become so sophisticated that they can convincingly depict people saying or doing things that they never actually did. In little time, the tech will become readily available to the layperson, who’ll require few programming skills.

Legislators are taking note

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a ban on those who impersonate others using deepfakes — the greatest concern being how it can be used to fool consumers. The Feb. 16 ban further noted that an increasing number of complaints have been filed from “impersonation-based fraud.”

A Financial Post article outlined that Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, says she feels “a sense of urgency” to act on artificial intelligence as the technology improves. “Malicious actors have found ways to synthetically mimic executive’s voices down to their exact tone and accent, duping employees into thinking their boss is asking them to transfer funds to a perpetrator’s account,” the report said. Ontario’s Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Framework, for which she consults, aims to set guides on the public sector use of AI.

In a recent Microsoft blog, the company stated their plan is to work with the tech industry and government to foster a safer digital ecosystem and tackle the challenges posed by AI abuse collectively. The company also said it’s already taking preventative steps, such as “ongoing red team analysis, preemptive classifiers, the blocking of abusive prompts, automated testing, and rapid bans of users who abuse the system” as well as using watermarks and metadata.

That prevention will also include enhancing public understanding of the risks associated with deepfakes and how to distinguish between legitimate and manipulated content.

Cybercriminals are also using deepfakes to apply for remote jobs. The scam starts by posting fake job listings to collect information from the candidates, then uses deepfake video technology during remote interviews to steal data or unleash ransomware. More than 16,000 people reported that they were victims of this scam to the FBI in 2020. In the US, this kind of fraud has resulted in a loss of more than $3 billion USD. Where possible, they recommend job interviews should be in person to avoid these threats.

Catching fakes in the workplace

There are detector programs, but they’re not flawless. 

When engineers at the Canadian company Dessa first tested a deepfake detector that was built using Google’s synthetic videos, they found it failed more than 40% of the time. The Seattle Times noted that the problem in question was eventually fixed, and it comes down to the fact that “a detector is only as good as the data used to train it.” But, because the tech is advancing so rapidly, detection will require constant reinvention.

There are other detection services, often tracing blood flow in the face, or errant eye movements, but these might lose steam once the hackers figure out what sends up red flags.

“As deepfake technology becomes more widespread and accessible, it will become increasingly difficult to trust the authenticity of digital content,” noted Javed Khan, owner of Ontario-based marketing firm EMpression. He said a focus of the business is to monitor upcoming trends in tech and share the ideas in a simple way to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

To preempt deepfake problems in the workplace, he recommended regular training sessions for employees. A good starting point, he said, would be to test them on MIT’s eight ways the layperson can try to discern a deepfake on their own, ranging from unusual blinking, smooth skin, and lighting.

Businesses should proactively communicate through newsletters, social media posts, industry forums, and workshops, about the risks associated with deepfake manipulation, he told DX Journal, to “stay updated on emerging threats and best practices.”

To keep ahead of any possible attacks, he said companies should establish protocols for “responding swiftly” to potential deepfake attacks, including issuing public statements or corrective actions.

How can a deepfake attack impact business?

The potential to malign a company’s reputation with a single deepfake should not be underestimated.

“Deepfakes could be racist. It could be sexist. It doesn’t matter — by the time it gets known that it’s fake, the damage could be already done. And this is the problem,” said Alan Smithson, co-founder of Mississauga-based MetaVRse and investor at Your Director AI.

“Building a brand is hard, and then it can be destroyed in a second,” Smithson told DX Journal. “The technology is getting so good, so cheap, so fast, that the power of this is in everybody’s hands now.”

One of the possible solutions is for businesses to have a code word when communicating over video as a way to determine who’s real and who’s not. But Smithson cautioned that the word shouldn’t be shared around cell phones or computers because “we don’t know what devices are listening to us.”

He said governments and companies will need to employ blockchain or watermarks to identify fraudulent messages. “Otherwise, this is gonna get crazy,” he added, noting that Sora — the new AI text to video program — is “mind-blowingly good” and in another two years could be “indistinguishable from anything we create as humans.”

“Maybe the governments will step in and punish them harshly enough that it will just be so unreasonable to use these technologies for bad,” he continued. And yet, he lamented that many foreign actors in enemy countries would not be deterred by one country’s law. It’s one downside he said will always be a sticking point.

It would appear that for now, two defence mechanisms are the saving grace to the growing threat posed by deepfakes: legal and regulatory responses, and continuous vigilance and adaptation to mitigate risks. The question remains, however, whether safety will keep up with the speed of innovation.

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Small banks emerge as the top source for small business financing

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Findbusinesses4sale used the Fed's Small Business Credit Survey data to compare approval rates among small business financing options.
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When it comes to borrowing money, small businesses are most likely to apply at large banks. But they often find success with their counterparts in the finance world: small banks.

Small banks—or those with less than $10 billion in total assets—comprise most of the banks in the U.S., much like small businesses account for nearly all U.S. businesses. More than 80% of small businesses that applied for financing at small banks were at least partially approved in 2022, according to data from the Fed’s most recent survey of small business employers. However, only 30% of small businesses applied at small banks when they sought financing.

About 2 in 5 small business employers applied for some traditional financing in 2022. Most needed the money to meet operating expenses, while a little over half sought cash to expand their operations.

Findbusinesses4sale used the Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey data to compare approval rates among small business financing sources, taking a closer look at their differences. Approval rates are based on applications for loans, credit, and cash advances at the various institution types. The Fed report was released in March 2023 based on a 2022 survey of nearly 8,000 small businesses with employees.


A bar chart shows the share of small business applicants at least partially approved for loan requests, separated by the type of source applied to.

Findbusinesses4sale

Small banks surpass online lenders, finance companies in approval rates for small business applicants

Also known as community banks, small banks are well-equipped to lend to small businesses because of their intimate knowledge of local economies. Small businesses are often young, with short histories, small operations, little collateral, and unproven financial success. These factors can make it difficult for founders to qualify for credit and loans—they’re simply a riskier investment for a funder to take on.

Small banks’ decision-makers live within the same areas where they grant loans, and they have insight into how certain businesses could fare within their neighborhoods. That makes it easier for them to analyze the risk of lending to small businesses and, in turn, decide whether to approve their applications. At least 3 in 5 (61%) applicants considered to be a medium or high credit risk were approved for financing at small banks; at large banks, not even half (45%) of these riskier applicants were approved.

By operating across smaller locales, community bank operators also have the opportunity to forge stronger relationships with business founders. The Fed survey shows that about 2 in 3 small businesses that applied for financing with these banks did so because of an existing relationship. Many of these relationships were forged in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, when community banks came through for small businesses with relief funds, including more intensive support in understanding and completing complex applications.

Small firms applying to other sources, such as online lenders and finance companies, are most often motivated by making quick decisions and perceiving that they have a higher chance of being approved. That was the case five years ago, but approval rates for both sources lagged behind small banks in 2022. Indeed, approval rates at both have fallen significantly since 2019, while approvals at small banks have grown.

Both online lenders and finance companies still approve slightly higher shares of applicants with medium to high credit risks compared to small banks, but only by a few percentage points. At the same time, many more borrowers reported dissatisfaction and challenges working with these lenders, including high interest rates and unfavorable repayment terms.

On the other hand, the vast majority of borrowers from small banks were happy with their experience—much more than those who borrowed from any other type of lender.

Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.

This story originally appeared on Findbusinesses4sale and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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The new reality of how VR can change how we work

It’s not just for gaming — from saving lives to training remote staff, here’s how virtual reality is changing the game for businesses

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Until a few weeks ago, you might have thought that “virtual reality” and its cousin “augmented reality” were fads that had come and gone. At the peak of the last frenzy around the technology, the company formerly known as Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021, as a sign of how determined founder Mark Zuckerberg was to create a VR “metaverse,” complete with cartoon avatars (who for some reason had no legs — they’ve got legs now, but there are some restrictions on how they work).

Meta has since spent more than $36 billion on metaverse research and development, but so far has relatively little to show for it. Meta has sold about 20 million of its Quest VR headsets so far, but according to some reports, not many people are spending a lot of time in the metaverse. And a lack of legs for your avatar probably isn’t the main reason. No doubt many were wondering: What are we supposed to be doing in here?

The evolution of virtual reality

Things changed fairly dramatically in June, however, when Apple demoed its Vision Pro headset, and then in early February when they were finally available for sale. At $3,499 US, the device is definitely not for the average consumer, but using it has changed the way some think about virtual reality, or the “metaverse,” or whatever we choose to call it.

Some of the enhancements that Apple has come up with for the VR headset experience have convinced Vision Pro true believers that we are either at or close to the same kind of inflection point that we saw after the release of the original iPhone in 2007.Others, however, aren’t so sure we are there yet.

The metaverse sounds like a place where you bump into giant dinosaur avatars or play virtual tennis, but ‘spatial computing’ puts the focus on using a VR headset to enhance what users already do on their computers. Some users generate multiple virtual screens that hang in the air in front of them, allowing them to walk around their homes or offices and always have their virtual desktop in front of them.

VR fans are excited about the prospect of watching a movie on what looks like a 100-foot-wide TV screen hanging in the air in front of them, or playing a video game. But what about work-related uses of a headset like the Vision Pro? 

Innovating health care with VR technology

One of the most obvious applications is in medicine, where doctors are already using remote viewing software to perform checkups or even operations. At Cambridge University, game designers and cancer researchers have teamed up to make it easier to see cancer cells and distinguish between different kinds.

Heads-up displays and other similar kinds of technology are already in use in aerospace engineering and other fields, because they allow workers to see a wiring diagram or schematic while working to repair it. VR headsets could make such tasks even easier, by making those diagrams or schematics even larger, and superimposing them on the real thing. The same kind of process could work for digital scans of a patient during an operation.

Using virtual reality, patients and doctors could also do remote consultations more easily, allowing patients to describe visually what is happening with them, and giving health professionals the ability to offer tips and direct recommendations in a visual way. 

This would not only help with providing care to people who live in remote areas, but could also help when there is a language barrier between doctor and patient. 

Impacting industry worldwide

One technology consulting firm writes that using a Vision Pro or other VR headset to streamline assembly and quality control in maintenance tasks. Overlaying diagrams, 3D models, and other digital information onto an object in real time could enable “more efficient and error-free assembly processes,” by providing visual cues, step-by-step guidance, and real-time feedback. 

In addition to these kinds of uses, virtual reality could also be used for remote onboarding for new staff in a variety of different roles, by allowing them to move around and practice training tasks in a virtual environment.

Some technology watchers believe that the retail industry could be transformed by virtual reality as well. Millions of consumers have become used to buying online, but some categories such as clothing and furniture have lagged, in part because it is difficult to tell what a piece of clothing might look like once you are wearing it, or what that chair will look like in your home. But VR promises the kind of immersive experience where that becomes possible.

While many consumers may see this technology only as an avenue for gaming and entertainment, it’s already being leveraged by businesses in manufacturing, health care and workforce development. Even in 2020, 91 per cent of businesses surveyed by TechRepublic either used or planned to adopt VR or AR technology — and as these technological advances continue, adoption is likely to keep ramping up.

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