The race to productize Gaussian Splatting (GS) just hit a new gear. Gracia AI, a London-based startup, announced $1.7 million in funding to build what it calls the first full-stack infrastructure for 4D Gaussian Splatting (4DGS), the dynamic, volumetric video version of the buzzy rendering technique.
While GS has been the darling of research labs for two years, Gracia’s raise, backed by funds including EWOR and an original NeRF pioneer, signals a critical pivot: moving photorealistic volumetric capture from technical demos into industrial production pipelines.
Gracia’s origin story is typical of modern AI startups: co-founder Andrey Volodin posted a technical demo that went viral, flooding his inbox with requests for tools that simply didn't exist. The initial idea was a "YouTube for volumetric video," but the founders quickly realized the real bottleneck wasn't distribution, but the lack of high-quality production infrastructure.
The company has since shifted entirely from static GS to dynamic 4DGS, focusing on the complex challenges of motion and scale. They are now powering R&D at global tech companies, being tested in Hollywood VFX pipelines, and even used for next-gen experiences at major European theme parks.
Bringing Gaussian Splatting Tools to Standalone VR
The core challenge for any volumetric technology is performance and accessibility. Gracia claims to have solved key hurdles that previously kept 4DGS confined to high-end PC setups.
The daily brief
Get the free daily brief with the day's AI news, new AI startups and funding rounds every morning.
Join 64,000 other subscribers.
Crucially, the team became the first to bring dynamic 4D Gaussian Splatting to standalone VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3/3S and Pico 4 Ultra. This is a massive step for the XR industry, which has long struggled to deliver photorealistic, dynamic content without relying on cloud streaming or tethered PC connections. Gracia’s system achieves real-time playback with file sizes around 1GB per minute of content.
Beyond XR, Gracia is focused on making its 4D Gaussian Splatting tools viable for high-demand film and VFX workflows. This means solving the notorious artifacts that plague volumetric capture when dealing with fast, complex motion. According to Gracia’s R&D team, their latest release can handle footage captured at 50fps and play it back in ultra-smooth slow motion with minimal artifacts, making it viable for sports and high-action cinema.
The platform provides a full creative toolkit for editing, camera work, and scene manipulation, complete with dedicated Unity and Unreal plugins. This integration is key, as it allows studios to leverage 4DGS for virtual sets and post-production control, potentially saving tens of thousands of dollars by avoiding expensive re-shoots or high-cost robotic camera systems.
