XRPANDA: Expanding Opportunities for Training Through Immersive Technology
Virtual reality (VR) presents a unique opportunity for people to step into a whole new world, perhaps an environment they otherwise would not have experienced. From the patent of the first multi-sensory simulator in 1962 and creation of the first head-mounted display in 1968 to the mainstream use of VR for video games in the early 2000s, VR has grown in popularity over the years. For many people, when they think of VR, immersive gaming, such as interactive activities and/or sports, might more readily come to mind. History tells us that VR is also deeply rooted in critical scientific and military training. The value of VR for industry training in particular is worth exploring.
Established May 10, 2025, by cofounders Milan Parghi and Saravanan Sundaram, XRPANDA is a Canadian immersive technology studio that builds VR training simulations for learning complex, high-stakes skills. Milan and Saravanan saw the transformative potential that VR could have for creating real-world workforce development simulations where teams can learn, train, and grow confidently — safer, faster, and more effectively without real-world risks. Over a year later, XRPANDA is trusted by academic partners and industry collaborators, with 300+ users trained.
The significance of XRPANDA’s impact is represented in its very name. XR stands for Extended Reality, which includes VR, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. “Panda” came from wanting a name that is simple, friendly, and easy to remember. Milan and Saravanan explained, “We thought about many serious sounding company names at first, but we wanted something people would remember even after hearing it once. Panda felt warm, approachable, and different. Also, we love pandas. They are cute and calm. But we are definitely not lazy like pandas. We work very hard.”
XRPANDA’s Quality Core Offerings
For Milan and Saravanan, it was an easy decision to choose VR for training over other forms of immersive technology. They shared, “With VR, learning becomes something you can actually experience. You are not just watching something on a screen. You can walk around an object, pick it up, throw it, go closer to it, explore it from every angle, and interact with it in a safe virtual environment. That makes the learning feel more natural, practical, and memorable. Training also becomes more engaging because it feels like a gamified environment, but still with a serious purpose. Many studies and industry examples show that immersive learning can improve engagement, confidence, and knowledge retention.”
XRPANDA’s flagship virtual stimulation and training program provides structured learning, procedural visualization, and data-driven feedback that is suitable for academic institutions, research environments, and healthcare providers. As well, XRPANDA supports the manufacturing and real estate industries. On top of that, it has its own original game IP. Recently, XRPANDA launched a game on the Meta Store, which has received great feedback and has grown to around 1,000 active users. In addition to its unique offerings, XRPANDA prides itself on being innovative-driven and future-ready, offering human-centered design with integrity and transparency, and having a global reach. (They currently have an academic collaboration in India.) In the end, it provides proof over promise; organizations can depend on XRPANDA to deliver results, including 75% knowledge retention and 4x faster onboarding.
Inspiring Others and Building Trust
What also motivates Milan and Saravanan? Their desire to inspire young entrepreneurs like themselves who are building innovative VR technology to know that through creativity, persistence, and hard work, they too can pursue their ideas and create meaningful solutions in support of others. Hard work and dedication are values that helped found the business and remain integral to XRPANDA’s identity. It’s their passion for the work — their commitment to producing memorable, quality VR experiences that customers find comfortable, flexible, valuable, enjoyable, and effective — that they want customers to take away from working with XRPANDA. For many customers, the work begins by the XRPANDA team creating a small, customized demo so they can actually experience the idea before making a decision, building trust and confidence that the final product will be useful for them. XRPANDA’s detailed approach in supporting clients is what sets them apart from their competitors.
When asked what they have appreciated most about their work with immersive technology for industry training, Milan and Saravanan said they appreciate how quickly people understand things when they experience them in VR, and that VR makes training safer. They added, “Some training topics can be difficult to explain through a presentation or video, but once someone puts on a headset and interacts with the environment, they understand it much faster. [Practicing real situations and learning from mistakes without any real-world risk] is very powerful, especially for industries where safety, process, and hands-on learning are important." Regarding what has pleasantly surprised them about their business, they noted they were surprised by how quickly they received trust from clients after registering the business. Milan and Saravanan reported, “Soon after starting XRPANDA, we got a strong client opportunity, and we were able to deliver the project within six months with good quality. That gave us a lot of confidence. It showed us that even as a young company, if we stay focused, work hard, and care about quality, clients can trust us and see value in what we do.”
What’s Next for XRPANDA
Milan and Saravanan are looking forward to growing XRPANDA through collaborations, investors, and strong partnerships, including global opportunities beyond Canada and India. Their goal is to keep expanding and building meaningful VR training solutions for leading companies and organizations that are ready to bring immersive technology into real-world learning and training. Milan and Saravanan expressed, “Our vision is big, and we know it will take time, but we are already moving in that direction. We want to work with organizations that are open to innovation and want to use VR not just as a new technology, but as a practical tool to solve real training and learning challenges.”
From Canada to India and abroad, XRPANDA’s cofounders Milan and Saravanan are excited for what the future holds for them in providing immersive virtual simulation and training services. Similar to the training experiences of its users, the opportunities for XRPANDA’s growth are limitless. Ready to take the unknown and make it a reality? Connect with Milan and Saravanan to learn more about what makes XRPANDA worth exploring.
Written by Tracee N. Jones, founder of Healthy Messages