In this episode, we interviewed David Castañeda - co-founder of Visionaries 777, a bespoke XR and real-time 3D company using spatial computing to merge the physical and digital worlds for enterprise clients across automotive, luxury, industrial, and real estate
David has helped bootstrap Visionaries 777 since 2012 into a global XR player across Europe, the Americas, and Asia - his partners contributed to some of the early AR patents at LEGO, and he leads the company's global customer acquisition and strategic growth
His core argument: AR and real-time 3D were never gimmicks - they're becoming infrastructure across the product lifecycle, and AI now collapses the cost of the generic while raising the value of brand-grade precision
Key takeaways:
XR is infrastructure, not a stunt - it touches how products are designed, sold, serviced, and maintained, and Visionaries 777 bet on that convergence a decade early
One accurate digital product, infinite outputs - a single high-fidelity 3D asset now feeds packshots, campaigns, configurators, and XR from one source instead of a photographer and a studio
AI collapses the cost of the generic and raises the value of the precise - rough assets are cheap now, but at enterprise level "close enough" doesn't exist
Spatial computing moves from marketing budgets into operations - the durable spend shifts to training, inspection, and maintenance, where XR plus AI delivers measurable ROI
🔗 Connect with David
Who are you and what do you do?
I'm David Castañeda, co-founder of Visionaries 777 Ltd., a bespoke XR and real-time 3D company leveraging spatial computing to fully merge the physical and digital worlds. We build high-fidelity interactive solutions for enterprise clients across automotive, luxury, industrial, and real estate, supporting the full product lifecycle from design to marketing, training, and maintenance.
You bootstrapped Visionaries 777 well before spatial computing was a headline - what did you see coming that most brands were missing?
Before Visionaries 777, my business partners Nicolas Guyon and Frantz Lasorne worked in R&D for LEGO and contributed to some of the early AR patents for them, they saw firsthand that the boundary between physical products and digital experiences was going to dissolve. What most brands were missing at the time was that AR and real-time 3D weren't gimmicks or marketing stunts, they were going to become infrastructure, touching how products are designed, sold, serviced, and maintained. We bet on that convergence early, and we've stayed focused on it ever since.
AR and real-time 3D weren't gimmicks or marketing stunts, they were going to become infrastructure, touching how products are designed, sold, serviced, and maintained.
Walk us through one concrete way AI is changing how a luxury or automotive brand uses XR - a real project, not the pitch
The clearest shift is in content production. Traditionally, a brand would book a photographer and a studio for packshots, or commission a full CGI pipeline for a commercial. AI is increasingly replacing that: with an accurate 3D asset of the product, you can generate packshots and campaign visuals directly, and CGI commercials now lean on AI to produce content far more easily. Beyond cost and speed, it unlocks creative possibilities a physical shoot could never afford. The same high-fidelity asset that powers a configurator or XR experience now feeds an entire content pipeline: one accurate digital product, infinite outputs.
What's the most common thing senior leaders get wrong about AI?
They treat it as either a silver bullet or a threat, and both framings miss the point. AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement for judgment, and it only creates value when it's embedded into real workflows with real product data. The leaders who win are the ones asking "where in our lifecycle does this remove friction" rather than "how do we announce an AI initiative."
AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement for judgment, and it only creates value when it's embedded into real workflows with real product data.
What's in your AI stack? The one tool you rely on every week?
Our weekly essential is Gemini for knowledge base search, it saves real time on technical documents. In development, Unity's built-in AI code completion handles repetitive patterns, and Claude Code is powerful for rapid prototyping. The caveat: for complex solutions, AI doesn't replace engineering fundamentals. Without solid programming knowledge and disciplined workflows, you end up in debugging hell burning through tokens.
Generative AI can produce 3D assets in minutes - what does that do to the economics of XR work, and what still can't be automated for luxury or automotive brands?
It collapses the cost of the generic and raises the value of the precise. Rough assets are becoming cheap, which is great for prototyping, but at the enterprise level "close enough" doesn't exist. Exact geometry, accurate materials, fidelity that matches engineering data rather than approximating it, that's still craft. What can't be automated is brand-grade accuracy, enterprise integration, and the judgment about what the experience should actually deliver for the business.
Where is your field in 12 months - one specific prediction?
I'd put money on spatial computing moving decisively from marketing budgets into operations budgets. The showroom demos got the attention, but the durable spend over the next twelve months will be in training, inspection, and maintenance, where XR combined with AI delivers measurable ROI rather than novelty. That's exactly why we've invested in Inspekly, a no-code training and remote management tool leveraging digital twins and indoor navigation to remotely train and manage staff in any industry.
AI Central Voices is where the AI Central team sits down with the founders, executives, and builders shaping AI - going behind the scenes of how they operate, what they're betting on, and where the industry goes next.
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