Behind the sweeping harbours of Sydney, a quiet revolution is taking place. Taking a concept from science fiction, Safe Room, a pioneering startup, is reshaping corporate training using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).
Leading this technological upstart is Pui Chi Chui, a leader whose creative efforts have spawned a new subsector of the corporate training industry: AI/VR training.
Chui’s journey began with a simple yet profound realisation: traditional media training methods fail to prepare professionals for the realities of media.
“I’ve seen firsthand how conventional training seminars go. Corporations and government agencies will spend thousands of dollars on old-school media training, but the results are often lacklustre. I knew there had to be a better way,” Chui says.
Bringing a sci-fi idea to life
As a PR expert, Chui knew that typical training seminars leave people unprepared to deal with journalists and public speaking. Chui says: “Trainees finish old-fashioned training feeling unready for the real challenges of working with media. I knew there had to be a better way to train people through experiences that feel more realistic.”
Drawing ideas from science fiction stories about ultra-realistic simulations, Chui envisioned a platform to put trainees into virtual environments that mimic the real world. By wearing VR headsets, participants would face interactive virtual audiences, get auto-generated questions, and receive detailed feedback on their performance.
“Our goal was to create training that felt as authentic as possible without the risk of making a public mistake,” Chui explains. “VR lets us build hyper-realistic simulations customised for each client.”
Securing investments and outpacing competitors
While the concept was groundbreaking, convincing investors it could work was initially difficult. “Many were doubtful about using VR for corporate training. They saw it as more of a gaming gimmick than a practical business tool,” Chui recalls.
However, her strong belief in Safe Room’s potential eventually paid off when Australian venture capital firm Hampton Capital recognised the massive value in the vision. Its $230,000 seed investment, with up to $1.5 million more committed, provided resources to develop the technology and expand globally.
“We’re thrilled to have the support of Hampton Capital,” Chui says. “I never thought we’d have the opportunity to grow so fast and so soon. Their investment proves the potential impact of Safe Room on corporate training.”
While competitors like VirtualSpeech, a UK-based company, have made inroads in the AI/VR training space, Safe Room’s unique differentiators set it apart. “Our focus on media training, advanced audience interaction, and feedback systems make us the go-to solution for professionals who want to excel in media-facing situations,” Chui says.
The future of corporate training
With an abundance of addressable markets in English-speaking countries, including the APAC region, the Americas, and the UK, Safe Room is set for exponential growth. The global AI/VR training market is projected to reach $15.8 billion by 2024, and Safe Room is ready to capitalise on this growing demand.
“I never could have imagined Safe Room becoming so successful,” Chui says excitedly. “As technology advances, we’ll continue changing how professionals learn and grow.”
From roundtable meetings doubling as lectures, to sophisticated speech recognition algorithms, Safe Room has set a business standard by putting people first — no matter the odds.
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Safe Room provides a VR-powered public relations and media training solution for professionals, corporations, and government agencies. The company offers a higher quality and lower cost alternative to traditional media training solutions.
