Amsterdam’s BRAVR Technologies has secured €130k in pre-Seed funding to create portable VR-based mental resilience training for military and civilian personnel. The scalable system is designed to offer extensive mental readiness training.
Ken Koontz, the Founder and Chief Designer, explains that stress resilience training typically involves simulating extreme environments, which is risky and costly, often only available to special forces. This funding will help transform demonstration technology into a plug-and-play product for testing. The aim is to equip instructors with tools to enhance mental readiness for millions of police, firefighters, and NATO soldiers.
Established in 2025, BRAVR Technologies comprises a team from Zeeland, Gelderland, and Amsterdam, dedicated to developing biofeedback-integrated VR training systems for improved mental resilience.
BRAVR’s system utilizes immersive VR to trigger the body’s stress response while measuring heart rate variability (HRV) in real-time. This biofeedback is incorporated into gameplay, aiding users in recognizing and training their automatic physiological stress response to enhance performance under pressure and build long-term resilience.
Maj. General (Ret.) Cornell A. Wilson Jr. of the US Marine Corps, an advisor, notes that BRAVR provides an intriguing tool for NATO soldiers and civilians to maintain composure during chaos, assess situations critically, and deliver results based on professional training.
Extreme scenarios are common for soldiers, police, and firefighters. BRAVR highlights that acute stress in these moments can impair decision-making, lead to physical shutdown, and result in long-term mental health issues.
Captain Jens Serup, former head of the Danish Army’s ‘Conduct After Capture’ program, states that acute stress can affect soldiers long after the battlefield. Mental resilience training is essential not just during combat but also in captivity and upon returning home. BRAVR aspires to equip more brave men and women with skills to safeguard themselves and others in the long run.