• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechLeonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio Adds Virtual Reality Startup to List of Investments

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 22, 2017, 10:00 AM ET

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is now an investor in virtual reality.

The celebrity, known for his leading roles in films like Titanic, The Aviator, and The Wolf of Wall Street, has invested an undisclosed amount in virtual reality startup MindMaze.

DiCaprio’s investment in MindMaze is the latest in the actor’s portfolio of companies he’s put money into. Some of DiCaprio’s other investments include the garbage startup Rubicon Global, data analytics company Qloo, mattress maker Casper, and sustainable food company LoveTheWild.

MindMaze is a five-year-old Swiss startup that specializes in virtual reality technology that’s primarily been used in the health care industry. In February 2016, the startup scored a $100 million funding round that put its valuation at roughly $1 billion, qualifying it a so-called startup unicorn.

“I am excited about the possibilities of MindMaze’s technology, especially for its potential to be a driving force in media and entertainment in the years to come,” DiCaprio said in a statement.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

MindMaze’s VR technology uses a combination of motion-tracking sensors and software to capture a person’s movements based on their electrical impulses, explained CEO Tej Tadi. The technology can then use that information to create virtual reality avatars that mimic a person’s movements in real time.

The startup has been testing its VR technology in European hospitals with stoke victims, amputees, and other people suffering from debilitating conditions, as a way to help them regain their movement.

Now MindMaze wants to branch out to other industries like the media and entertainment world. Earlier this year it debuted a smaller, headset version of its healthcare VR system that is intended to capture movements of a person’s face as opposed to their entire bodies.

Tadi believes the company’s MASK VR system could be incorporated into other VR devices like Facebook’s (FB) Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, or Google (GOOG) Daydream VR headsets. People could potentially play virtual reality video games that react to their facial expressions, so in the case of a first-person shooter, the game’s difficulty could be reduced if it recognizes that the player appears frustrated or nervous.

DiCaprio learned about MindMaze from mutual connections in the health care industry, which the actor does charity work for, Tadi said. He said DiCaprio was fascinated with MindMaze’s VR technology and believed that the Hollywood industry could use it to create more interactive movies, films, or animated shorts.

For instance, Tadi imagines people could watch VR animated shorts based on popular movies in which storylines may change based on the viewers’ expressions.

Tadi shot down the notion that MindMaze’s new connection with DiCaprio is purely promotional, saying he expects DiCaprio to introduce the startup to his Hollywood connections. DiCaprio will serve as an advisor to MindMaze.

“This is not just marketing spin for him or me,” Tadi said. DiCaprio will be an active participant in helping guide the virtual reality startup, he continued, and will not just show up to meetings “just once in a blue moon.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Woman holding a yellow umbrella that has become inverted in the wind.
NewslettersEye on AI
AI agents are getting more capable, but reliability is lagging—and that’s a problem
By Jeremy KahnMarch 24, 2026
2 hours ago
Khosla gestures with both hands
AIElections
Billionaire OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla thinks 80% of jobs could vanish by 2030, and that ‘fear of AI’ put American politics in a chokehold
By Jacqueline MunisMarch 24, 2026
3 hours ago
Aravind Srinivas, wearing a white sweater, lifts both of his arms in front of him.
Future of WorkLabor
Perplexity CEO says AI layoffs aren’t so bad because people hate their jobs anyways: ‘That sort of glorious future is what we should look forward to’
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 24, 2026
5 hours ago
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink
EconomyInequality
Billionaire Larry Fink says you’re wrong to think that AI stealing your job is the big problem—it’s really about what it’s doing for his class
By Tristan BoveMarch 24, 2026
5 hours ago
boardroom
AIJobs
CFOs admit privately that AI layoffs will be 9x higher this year—and still a fraction of ‘doomsday’ predictions
By Jake AngeloMarch 24, 2026
5 hours ago
Alex Karp
SuccessCareers
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Preston ForeMarch 24, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
1 day ago
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 23, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
1 day ago
Economy
It took 200 years for national debt to hit $1 trillion. Annual interest alone now exceeds that—a 'crushing legacy we must reverse,' says budget chair
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
1 day ago
Economy
Larry Fink says today's economic anxiety stems from people increasingly feeling like capitalism isn't working for them
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
1 day ago
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, March 24, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Magazine
The youngest-ever female CEO of a Fortune 500 company is fighting Trump's cuts to keep Medicaid strong
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
14 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.