Augsburg, Germany-based RENK, a subsidiary of automotive giant Volkswagen Group, will expand its stake in Modest Tree as the Halifax maker of augmented reality software looks to expand its product offering.

Modest Tree’s software allows the use of extended reality (XR) – a blanket term for augmented reality, virtual reality and other technologies that immerse the user in a virtual world – that has applications including training workers and facilitating remote maintenance of machinery.

Now, company spokesperson Laura Bohnert has said in an interview that Modest Tree is expanding to offer other services to help companies consolidate and leverage data. She said its partnership with RENK, which manufactures transmissions for trucks and ships, is strategic because it offers insight into manufacturing industry pain points.

“For us to work with RENK as a partner, we gain more valuable insights into what that core demographic needs,” Bohnert said. “And then that allows us to sculpt out better solutions that are more targeted towards what they specifically are looking for, and what they need and how those needs are evolving.

“That helps us not just create a solution that is going to be effective today, but also that can scale based on what those changes have been in the past, and where we can kind of foresee those changes going in the future.”

She declined to elaborate on the specifics of Modest Tree’s new technologies, citing confidentiality concerns.

CEO Sam Sannandeji and his partner Emily Smits founded Modest Tree eight years ago with the goal of developing a drag-and-drop framework that could be used to create online training manuals and educational content.

RENK first invested in Modest Tree in September, 2019, after previously being a client. Bohnert said working with RENK has allowed Modest Tree to observe how its technology functions in a commercial environment and tailor its research and development accordingly.

“When we first were introduced to RENK... we were very focused on providing virtual reality and augmented reality training solutions,” she said. “It was when we got those implemented in RENK that we were able to see that the solution that we were offering could be scaled and could be shifted to cover a lot of different pain points within that industry. We've had an inside look at what a company like RENK really needs as a digital solution.”

In May, Modest tree announced it would open a branch office in Oromocto, N.B., to be run by recently hired Vice President of Business Development Charles Richer. At the same time, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster said Modest Tree would head up a $2.2 million project to develop a digital platform for ship and ocean equipment maintenance.

Bohnert said Modest Tree now has about 50 employees, and offices in Canada, the United States and several European nations. Its clients are in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.