When we say we invest in founders and not companies, we mean it. Our recent investment in XRF is the perfect example.
Gustavo Medina is the mastermind leading this newbie at the GoHub Ventures family. On his personal LinkedIn page, he describes himself as “a serial entrepreneur focused on tech SaaS B2B projects”, the ones we love!
Over his professional career, he has founded three companies, including XRF, and co-founded six more in the US and Spain. He has proven to be a very active entrepreneur, always looking for the next challenge, who has built an important pipeline of contacts, something essential when starting any company.
His accumulated entrepreneurial vision, his deep technical knowledge, and his ability to surround himself with great partners are three of the traits that made us invest in Gustavo and the project he’s been leading since 2022.
Dive deep into this article to discover what XRF has to offer and why its dual-use technology has become crucial these days.
XRF, Key Support for Decision-Makers in Complex Scenarios
What started as a videogame company called Singular Games, part of a venture builder located in Miami, ended up being a defense-tech and security startup that currently employs a team of 35 people distributed between Miami, Madrid, and Gran Canaria.
After the volcano explosion in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) in 2021, Gustavo Medina, Antonio Sánchez, Izzat Sabbagh, and Elena Hidalgo decided to shift their professional careers and focus on a new business opportunity: the use of mixed reality for emergency management.
XRF was born in late 2022 as the key support for decision-makers in complex scenarios. Using data aggregation, extended reality, and artificial intelligence, the startup provides real-time visual and communication support for both industry and emergency services personnel, anywhere in the world. Gustavo’s global vision has been essential to the company’s expansion, which now spans several countries, with clients across the Middle East, America, and Europe, including NEOM or the Port Authority of Valencia.
The startup has already established a strong reputation with the Army, the Spanish Ministry of Defense, and the Navy. It has been invited to participate in NATO exercises, including Valiant Lynx, and was named a Top Ten Innovator at the Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise (CWIX), standing out among over 500 projects.
€2.3M to Boost XRF’s Dual-Use Technology
XRF recently closed a €2.3 million funding round with the participation of JME Ventures, Kfund, and GoHub Ventures, which will allow the company to accelerate its business plan to lead the development of AI and new technologies, mainly in the field of defense and security.
One of the main reasons that made us bet 100% on the startup is its robust technological solution with applications in both the industrial and defense sectors.
In industry, XRF’s technology aggregates data from personnel, assets in motion, and other operational factors to provide a centralized, real-time view of operations, such as those in port settings, critical infrastructure, or large industrial work areas. This data aggregation is directly applicable to defense, where it enables the establishment of distributed command centers by consolidating critical information in real-time.
In emergency response, XRF’s technology excels in mapping terrains and aggregating assistance personnel data (e.g., from the Military Emergency Unit or firefighters) using drones, sensors, and other tools to ensure rapid response to any crisis. This capability is equally valuable in defense, where it facilitates effective field responses and supports the establishment of distributed command centers in emergencies.
There’s a clear market trend toward these kinds of technology aggregation solutions, especially prominent in the U.S. defense and industrial sectors, with significant growth potential in Europe.
Funding trends also reflect this shift, as startups offering solutions in this sector are attracting increasing investment, with new funds being created exclusively for the vertical and existing ones allocating budgets specifically for dual-use technologies. These major defense sector investment opportunities focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, data breaches, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, and data aggregation and visualization, which is XRF’s core solution.
Fostering a Collaborative Portfolio
At GoHub Ventures, we actively promote collaboration among our investee startups, identifying and driving strategic synergies that enhance value for each of them. XRF’s entry into the fund is a prime example of how new investments can open opportunities for existing portfolio startups to mutually benefit.
Here are some examples:
- Kenmei: The startup can assist XRF in tracking mobile networks and user locations during emergencies through device positioning data, enhancing response accuracy and safety. It also benefits from integrating mobile coverage data, offering visibility into network capabilities for people and environments.
- EarthPulse: Its satellite data platform provides XRF with detailed terrain mapping, enhancing situational awareness capabilities.
- Onirix: XRF’s virtual reality models can be transferred to Onirix’s augmented reality software, making them easily accessible without the need for a virtual environment or specialized equipment.
- Union Avatars: By integrating photorealistic avatars into XRF’s augmented reality environments, remote meetings become more lifelike while preserving anonymity, something crucial in defense services.
