Voxelo raises £300K to unlock AI-powered 3D and AR from short video
Manchester-based startup Voxelo has secured a £300,000 pre-seed first close to develop an AI-powered 3D and augmented reality (AR) product studio that transforms simple short videos into high-quality interactive visuals. The round is backed by former eBay director Andy Gray, underscoring growing investor confidence in tools that make immersive product content faster and more affordable for brands.
A new way to create 3D and AR from everyday video
Voxelo is building a platform that allows retailers, brands, and creators to upload short-form videos of physical products and automatically generate detailed 3D models, 360-degree views, and AR experiences. Instead of relying on costly studio shoots, photogrammetry rigs, or manual 3D modelling, the company uses advanced computer vision and generative AI to reconstruct objects from ordinary footage.
The startup’s technology aims to remove one of the biggest bottlenecks in e-commerce and digital marketing: the time and expense required to produce high-quality product visuals across multiple formats. With the rise of short-form video on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, brands are already capturing more video content than ever. Voxelo wants to turn that raw material into reusable 3D and AR assets at scale.
From a quick clip to a full product studio
According to the company’s vision, a merchant or creator will be able to record a quick handheld video of a product on a smartphone, upload it to the Voxelo platform, and receive:
- Interactive 3D product models that can be rotated and zoomed on any device
- AR try-out experiences that let shoppers place items in their home or environment
- Optimised web and mobile assets for e-commerce product pages
- Ready-to-use content for social commerce and advertising campaigns
This approach targets a growing demand for richer, more tactile digital shopping experiences without requiring brands to build in-house 3D teams or invest in specialised hardware.
Backed by former eBay director Andy Gray
The pre-seed round’s most notable backer is former eBay director Andy Gray, whose experience in global marketplaces and e-commerce operations adds strategic weight to Voxelo‘s ambitions. His involvement signals that major industry veterans see immersive product content as a critical next step for online retail.
Investors are increasingly focused on tools that can help marketplaces and brands reduce returns, boost conversion rates, and improve customer confidence. Detailed 3D and AR product visualization has been shown in multiple studies to increase engagement and purchasing intent, but adoption has been limited by cost and complexity. Voxelo is positioning itself as the layer that removes those barriers.
Why 3D and AR matter for the next wave of e-commerce
Over the past decade, online retail has evolved from static photos to video, and now toward fully interactive experiences. Leading platforms have already experimented with virtual try-on, AR furniture placement, and 3D product viewers. Yet most smaller and mid-sized brands still rely on basic imagery because traditional 3D production workflows are expensive, slow, and technically demanding.
Voxelo‘s strategy taps into several converging trends:
- The rapid improvement of AI algorithms for 3D reconstruction and scene understanding
- The ubiquity of smartphone cameras capable of capturing high-quality video
- Consumer familiarity with AR experiences via mobile apps and social filters
- Retailers’ need to differentiate in a crowded, price-sensitive online marketplace
By converting ordinary short videos into structured 3D assets, Voxelo aims to lower the threshold for immersive commerce, allowing more brands to experiment with AR product placement, virtual showrooms, and richer product storytelling.
Manchester’s growing role in AI and creative tech
The funding also highlights Manchester’s emergence as a hub for AI, creative technology, and digital commerce. The city has seen a steady rise in startups working at the intersection of media, data, and automation, supported by a strong university base and an expanding investor network in the North of England.
Voxelo adds to this ecosystem by combining deep technical capabilities in computer vision and machine learning with commercial applications in retail, advertising, and content production. The company’s focus on practical, revenue-driving use cases — rather than experimental demos — could help accelerate adoption among mainstream businesses.
How Voxelo plans to use the £300K pre-seed funding
The £300,000 pre-seed first close will be used to advance core AI research and development, refine the product experience, and expand pilot programmes with early customers. Key priorities are expected to include:
- Improving the accuracy and realism of 3D reconstruction from imperfect, real-world video
- Building intuitive self-service tools for non-technical users in marketing and merchandising teams
- Integrations with major e-commerce platforms and content management systems
- Testing pricing models that align with the needs of both small brands and larger retailers
While the company is still at an early stage, the first-close structure of the round suggests that additional capital may follow as Voxelo demonstrates traction and technical milestones.
What this means for brands and creators
If Voxelo delivers on its promise, marketers and product teams could shift from one-off, manual content production to a more scalable, data-driven approach. Short videos captured during photo shoots, store visits, or influencer collaborations could be repurposed into a library of 3D and AR assets, reducing both production costs and time-to-market.
For creators and agencies, the platform could offer a new way to package services around immersive content without needing specialised 3D expertise. For consumers, it may translate into more realistic product views, better fit and size expectations, and more confident purchasing decisions.
With support from industry veteran Andy Gray and a clear focus on solving a tangible pain point in e-commerce, Voxelo is positioning itself as a key player in the next generation of product visualization. The company’s progress over the coming year will be closely watched by retailers, marketplaces, and investors looking for practical applications of AI in the shopping experience.