Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore

WAY Experience

Way Experience S.r.l. is a start-up born in 2019, which operates in the tourism and cultural sector with the aim of conceiving, implementing and disseminating digital projects for the public, through the use of augmented reality technology. The company’s mission is to innovate the traditional approach to museum visits in art cities, through the proposal of innovative “phygital” tours – physical and digital – which transform attractions into virtual journeys through time through art and history. The experiences offered by Way enhance the legacy of historical figures – such as musicians, writers, painters or scientists – by recreating the settings in which they lived through virtual reality and allowing the visitor to immerse themselves in their eras and works. Over the last few years, over 80,000 people have participated in the various experiences created: Inside Monet, You Are Leo, The R-evolution Park, You Are Darwin, Geronimo Stilton Live Experience – Viaggio nel Tempo and the most recent You Are Verdi, the walking tour that allows you to rediscover the places in the life and music of the famous composer.

Way Experience is now supported by Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore (or “FSVGDA”), which has invested €200,000 in equity in the company. The capital increase was carried out as part of the first edition of “Impact4Art“, an “impact” investment program to support the recovery of the Art and Culture sector, launched at the beginning of 2021 by FSVGDA in synergy with Fondazione Cariplo, and now in its second edition, which provides €1.9M for investments in cultural enterprises.

Impact

The innovation introduced by Way in the cultural sector is represented by its ability to transform the classic guided city tours into real experiential journeys over time. Thanks to Augmented Reality, the start-up is able to make viewers travel to remote places and periods through faithful 3D reconstructions of spaces and settings. During each tour, enriched by the accompaniment of a historical-cultural expert, each participant is equipped with a VR viewer which, along a path in stages, activates Virtual Reality experiences allowing them to immerse themselves in the history of the protagonists of the tour. The sector identified by Way has significant growth margins: physical VR tours, in Italy alone, have excellent development potential between cities of art, villages and archaeological areas with over 100 projects that can be located in the area. In fact, digital augmented reality experiences represent a relevant market, with an estimated annual growth rate of +21.6% between 2020 and 2027 and potential revenues in 2024 of $6.7B. Furthermore, the proposal for virtual tours represents an opportunity to bring young people closer to art and culture, as a form of entertainment and personal enrichment. According to the report of the trade association AESVI, 96% of children between the ages of 6 and 17, and 71% of young adults, with an average age of 28, are avid video game players. We are therefore talking about a large group with great awareness of what the virtual world can give. Way’s activity actively contributes to the achievement of SDGs n.11 (sustainable cities and communities and specifically of SDGs 11.4: strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage). In fact, the start-up aims to enhance cultural heritage through virtual reality, helping to promote experiential, sustainable and community tourism in close contact with local realities. The aim is to widen the audience of visitors to cultural works and places also to traditionally less involved sections of the population through more innovative and avant-garde entertainment.

Foundation year
2019
Legal status
S.r.l. - Innovative Start-up
Site
Milan
Sector
Arts and culture
In portfolio since
2023
Type of investment
Equity
Website: www.wayexperience.it