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TRIPP

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TRIPP
Information
Type Meditation and mental wellness application
Industry Mental health, wellness
Developer TRIPP, Inc.
Operating System Meta Horizon OS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, visionOS, Android XR, iOS, Android
Supported Devices Meta Quest headsets, PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, Apple Vision Pro, Android XR headsets, smartphones
Release Date 2019 (Oculus Quest)
Website https://www.tripp.com


TRIPP is a meditation and mental wellness application for virtual reality headsets, mixed reality devices and smartphones, developed by the Los Angeles company TRIPP, Inc.[1] Its sessions combine guided breathing, narration and sound with abstract, deliberately psychedelic visual environments that the company calls worldscapes.[2][3] The company was founded in 2017 by Nanea Reeves and Zachary Norman, both of whom had worked in the video game industry, and the consumer app launched on the Oculus Quest in 2019.[4][5]

TRIPP has since been released on PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, Apple Vision Pro and Android XR, alongside mobile apps for iOS and Android. It has also added Kōkua, an AI-driven guide that generates personalized sessions from mood check-ins, which reached VR in July 2024.[6][7] TIME included it in its list of the best inventions of 2022, and university and hospital researchers have used the app as the virtual reality intervention in several feasibility studies.[8][9]

Reviewed 21 October 2026. Funding, acquisitions, platform release dates, prices, Kōkua updates, awards, usage figures and all six cited studies checked against the cited press, store listings and full-text papers. About review dates.

History

Founding

Reeves was an early investor in Oculus VR. In a 2025 interview on the Meta Quest Blog she recalled noticing at the company's original Orange County office that many early demos were designed to frighten people, and wondering what other feelings virtual reality could produce. She had learned meditation at 15, and said that after the sudden death of her husband from cancer she decided it was time to develop her own ideas.[10] According to Amazon Science, the idea of combining meditation and VR came to her in 2017 while she was experimenting with the medium by building a solitaire game in VR, and the work drew on Giuseppe Riva's research into virtual reality and the emotion of awe.[2]

SiliconANGLE reported in September 2017 that Tripp had raised US$4 million in a round led by Tim Chang of Mayfield. It named Reeves as co-founder and chief executive and Zachary Norman as co-founder, and said the two had spent years at game companies including Electronic Arts and Jamdat Mobile. The startup had not yet shown any VR experiences; it described its goal as combining guided meditation and hypnosis-style techniques with immersive visuals, sound and interactivity, and Reeves summarized the approach as "stimulation rather than simulation."[4] Reeves later told TechCrunch that the name came from early testers who took off the headset and said the experience had been a trip.[11]

Launch and expansion (2019-2023)

TRIPP was first distributed on Oculus headsets, at a time when the Oculus store had no relaxation category, and the consumer product launched on the Oculus Quest in 2019.[2][5] By June 2021 it was available on the Quest, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. Road to VR reported subscription prices of US$5 per month or US$15 per year on Quest and Rift, and a one-time US$30 purchase on Quest, Rift and PSVR.[1] The PlayStation VR version for PlayStation 4 lists a release date of 30 November 2020 and requires the PlayStation Camera.[6]

In October 2021 HTC named TRIPP as an example of "Meditation 2.0" apps for its Vive Flow headset, and quoted Reeves in the launch press release.[12] By mid-2022 Road to VR listed the Meta Quest 2, Vive Flow, PSVR, Nreal glasses, the web and mobile among its platforms.[13] TRIPP was also a launch partner for Niantic Lightship, Niantic's AR developer kit, and in February 2022 said it was building an augmented reality product for release toward the end of that year.[11]

A separate PlayStation VR2 edition for PlayStation 5, titled TRIPP: A New Way to Meditate, is listed on the US PlayStation Store with a release date of 8 June 2023 and a price of US$59.99. It requires the PS VR2 headset and Sense controllers and supports seated, standing and room-scale play.[14][15]

Acquisitions

The company bought three businesses between 2021 and 2022:

Date Company Description
August 2021 PsyAssist A Utah-based mobile app for people undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy and for the clinics treating them[16][17]
February 2022 EvolVR A live group meditation community launched in 2018, with Jeremy Nickel as founder and chief executive, that held sessions in AltspaceVR and claimed more than 40,000 participants; paid for in cash and equity, terms undisclosed[16][11]
June 2022 Eden A VR world-building platform acquired from BeardedEye, the studio behind Galactic Gallery[13]

After the EvolVR deal Nickel was named TRIPP's vice president of community and live events, and TRIPP took over EvolVR's 21 weekly live sessions.[16] By June 2022 these group meditations ran in AltspaceVR and Meta's Horizon Worlds.[17] Reeves described the Eden purchase as a step toward "building a mindful metaverse."[13]

Funding

Announced Amount Investors
September 2017 US$4 million Led by Mayfield[4][11]
June 2021 US$11 million Series A Co-led by Vine Ventures and Mayfield, with Integrated participating; total outside funding reached US$15 million[1][18]
June 2022 US$11.2 million Series A extension Led by BITKRAFT Ventures, with Qualcomm, the Amazon Alexa Fund, HTC, Niantic and Mayfield; Road to VR put total funding at US$26.3 million[13][17]

Apple Vision Pro, Kōkua and Android XR (2024-2026)

The visionOS edition, TRIPP Vision, was released on the App Store on 2 February 2024, and HIT Consultant reported its arrival on Vision Pro on 7 February 2024.[19][3] The company said the Vision Pro version rendered its worldscapes in high resolution, blended them with the user's surroundings, and used AI-powered breath detection to give real-time feedback on breathing.[3]

In July 2024 TRIPP launched Kōkua XR, an AI meditation guide in VR built on an earlier mobile version. It was initially available on mobile and Meta Quest, and the company said it drew on mood data from more than 11 million wellness sessions.[7] In the February 2025 Meta interview Reeves described Kōkua as live on Quest: users say how they feel and it guides a personalized meditation in real time.[10] Later mobile updates, according to the App Store version history, added a library of more than 20 voices (September 2025), a conversation mode in which Kōkua speaks and listens in 28 languages (October 2025), and voice avatars that let users record their own voice for affirmations and reflections (December 2025). A July 2026 update introduced Give Kōkua (beta), which lets a user create a personalized Kōkua session for another person, who can receive it without an account.[20]

TRIPP ported the app to Android XR with Unity. In an April 2025 Unity case study, product and technology operations director Daniel Kharlas said converting custom shaders to Unity's Universal Render Pipeline had been the most labor-intensive step and recommended the XR Hands packages because Android XR is hands-first.[21] Unity listed TRIPP among the apps available on Android XR on its launch day in October 2025, and quoted engineering director Peter Kennedy as saying the earlier move to URP and the XR Interaction Toolkit made the port "easily a hundred times easier."[22]

Features

A session typically pairs a breathing exercise with narration, music or sound frequencies and a generated visual environment. The 2021 dot.LA profile described guided breathing sessions of 10 to 30 minutes.[18] BGR's 2022 review on a Meta Quest described daily Focus and Calm sessions that each bring a new guided meditation and landscape, a Compose option for building custom sessions by mindscape, topic and length, box-breathing guidance with settings for beginner, intermediate and advanced users, "Escapes" set in real locations, a Tibetan singing bowl meditation, and personal photos that appear at the end of sessions. Up to four people could use one account.[5] Road to VR's 2022 summary listed binaural audio and progress tracking among the features.[13]

The PS VR2 edition lists daily focus and calm meditations, sleep preparation experiences, multi-day challenges, music and sounds by artists including Moby, guided breathing, uploads of personal images into the worldscapes, and custom journeys built from more than 100 experiences and topics.[15] The mobile app, TRIPP: Calm Focus Sleep Ascend, centers on Kōkua; its listing says mobile subscriptions include access to the VR app, and photos uploaded in the mobile app's Personalize tab appear in the VR Focus and Calm experiences.[20]

As of October 2026 the official website lists annual plans of US$49.99 for both the mobile app and the headset version, and states that mobile access is included with a VR subscription.[23] The TRIPP Vision listing shows a US$9.99 monthly subscription, a US$49.99 annual subscription and a US$79.99 lifetime purchase, and its version 2.0.4 notes say mobile and Vision subscriptions now include each other.[19]

Supported devices

Platform Edition Notes
Meta Quest TRIPP: Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep First release (2019, Oculus Quest); subscription required; 4.1 average from about 3,300 reviews as of October 2026[5][24]
Oculus Rift TRIPP Listed as available in June 2021[1]
PlayStation VR TRIPP (PS4) Released 30 November 2020; requires PlayStation Camera[6]
PlayStation VR2 TRIPP: A New Way to Meditate (PS5) Released 8 June 2023; requires PS VR2 Sense controllers[14]
Vive Flow TRIPP Named by HTC as a meditation app for the device in October 2021[12]
Apple Vision Pro TRIPP Vision Version 1.0 released 2 February 2024; requires visionOS 1.0 or later[19]
Android XR TRIPP Available on Android XR's launch day, October 2025[22]
iOS and Android TRIPP: Calm Focus Sleep Ascend Mobile companion and standalone app; 4.6 average from 892 App Store ratings as of October 2026[20][23]

Research

TRIPP's website states that its content is offered for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.[23] In 2022 Reeves told Amazon Science that the company does not make therapeutic claims "until we have a tremendous amount of evidence to support those claims."[2] The app has nevertheless been used as the VR intervention in several peer-reviewed pilot and feasibility studies. Most were small, and their authors call for larger controlled trials.

Study Setting and design Reported findings
Schrempf et al., Scientific Reports (2022)[9] University Hospital Augsburg, Germany; 54 patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer or colorectal liver metastases, randomized to VR (TRIPP on an Oculus Go for Business headset), music or standard care; headsets and software supplied free of charge by TRIPP, which had no influence on study design, data analysis or writing Adherence 81.6% for VR versus 64.6% for music; VR reduced heart rate (-1.2 bpm) and respiratory rate (-0.7 breaths per minute); mood improved in both intervention groups; no difference in quality of life between groups
Nicksic Sigmon et al., Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health (2023)[25] University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; 30 students, residents and fellows used TRIPP's Calm and Focus content on Oculus Quest or Quest 2 headsets for eight weeks, without a comparison group; the center had a consulting partnership with TRIPP Engagement ranged from 0 to 29 sessions; stress scores fell and mindful awareness and self-compassion rose; participants liked the gamified content but cited limited free time, portability and privacy as barriers
Cavallo et al., NeuroRegulation (2024)[26] Single case: a 13-year-old with anxiety symptoms completed 25 TRIPP sessions over eight weeks, assessed with rating scales and qEEG Decreases in negative affect, anxiety and hiBeta (20-30 Hz) amplitude; the participant remained "at risk" for anxiety; the authors call the results preliminary
Greco et al., Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology (2025)[27] NEMO centre, Milan; observational study of 59 hospitalized patients with neuromuscular disease using TRIPP on Oculus Quest 2 Low levels of cybersickness and high levels of flow state
Gentile et al., General Hospital Psychiatry (2026)[28] Men's health clinic in central Canada (University of Manitoba researchers); 42 patients undergoing vasectomy or cystoscopy randomized to a TRIPP relaxation session or usual care No significant overall differences in anxiety or distress; the vasectomy VR group reported significantly lower pain during the procedure; feasibility was higher for vasectomies

In June 2023 HLTH reported results of a phase 1 feasibility study of its PsyAssist program at the Kadima Neuropsychiatry Institute in San Diego, in which patients preparing for ketamine treatment for depression or anxiety viewed guided meditative imagery on a Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye headset. The report gave satisfaction and usability measures, such as 80% of users saying they would want to use the system frequently, but did not give a sample size or describe a control group.[29]

Reception

TIME placed TRIPP in its 200 Best Inventions of 2022 under the heading "Meditate in the Metaverse," noting its psychedelic visuals, breathing exercises and guided meditations and the live communal sessions it had begun offering that year.[8] In its 2022 review, BGR praised the visuals, narration and daily variety, but said wearing the headset kept the reviewer aware of the hardware and that attention drifted during quiet stretches with little narration.[5] A 2026 review of commercial VR mindfulness apps in BMJ Health & Care Informatics rated five apps with the Mobile App Rating Scale; TRIPP received the highest average score, 4.1 out of 5, ahead of Hoame (3.8), Maloka (3.6), Headspace XR (3.4) and Innerworld (3.3).[30]

Kōkua won the Best Use of AI category at XR Today's XR Awards 2025, held on 29 May 2025.[31] Kōkua also won the Innovation category of the 2025 AUREA Awards, presented at Europa-Park in Germany in January 2025.[32][19]

Company-reported usage

TRIPP's reported session totals have grown over time. These figures come from the company and have not been independently audited.

Date reported Figure
June 2021 More than 2 million wellness sessions streamed[18]
February 2022 More than 3.5 million wellness sessions[11]
October 2022 Nearly 6 million wellness sessions[2]
July 2024 Mood data from more than 11 million wellness sessions[7]
October 2026 More than 14 million global wellness sessions[23]

In the February 2025 Meta interview Reeves said that TRIPP's audience was 59% male, and that at launch people had been skeptical about whether gamers would use it.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Scott Hayden (2021-06-25). "VR Meditation App 'Tripp' Raises $11M Series A Investment". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vr-meditation-app-tripp-raises-11m-series-investment/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Tripp explores the potential of virtual reality-powered meditation". Amazon Science. Amazon. 2022-10-07. https://www.amazon.science/latest-news/tripp-explores-the-potential-of-virtual-reality-powered-meditation. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fred Pennic (2024-02-07). "TRIPP Takes VR Meditation to New Heights on Apple Vision Pro". HIT Consultant. https://hitconsultant.net/2024/02/07/vr-meditation-wellness-app-tripp-now-available-on-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Eric David (2017-09-28). "Tripp raises $4M to create psychedelic VR experiences that mess with your mind". SiliconANGLE. https://siliconangle.com/2017/09/28/tripp-raises-4m-create-psychedelic-vr-experiences-mess-mind/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Chris Hachey (2022-05-29). "TRIPP VR Meditation Review". BGR. https://bgr.com/reviews/tripp-vr-meditation-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "TRIPP (English)". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-sg/concept/10001717. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Fred Pennic (2024-07-30). "TRIPP Launches Kōkua XR, AI-Powered Meditation in VR". HIT Consultant. https://hitconsultant.net/2024/07/30/tripp-launches-kokua-xr-ai-powered-meditation-in-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nik Popli (2022-11-10). "Tripp Wellness Platform: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022". TIME. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129145036/https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2022/6229839/tripp-wellness-platform/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 M. C. Schrempf, J. Petzold, M. A. Petersen, et al. (2022-07-14). "A randomised pilot trial of virtual reality-based relaxation for enhancement of perioperative well-being, mood and quality of life". Scientific Reports, vol. 12, article 12067. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16270-8. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Jumpstart January: Talking with 'TRIPP' Founder & CEO Nanea Reeves About VR Mindfulness". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2025-02-05. https://www.meta.com/blog/jumpstart-january-tripp/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Haje Jan Kamps (2022-02-03). "Tripp acquires EvolVR to help more people fly higher in the metaverse". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/03/tripp-acquires-evolvr/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "HTC VIVE Breaks new Ground with Launch of Portable VIVE Flow Immersive Glasses". VIVE Newsroom. HTC. 2021-10-14. https://www.vive.com/us/newsroom/2021-10-14/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Scott Hayden (2022-06-02). "Amazon, Qualcomm & More Invest $11.2M in TRIPP to Build the "mindful metaverse"". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/tripp-vr-meditation-metaverse-11m-investment/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "TRIPP: A New Way to Meditate". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10008239. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "TRIPP: A New Way to Meditate (English)". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-th/concept/10008239. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Keerthi Vedantam (2022-02-03). "VR Therapy App Tripp Acquires Meditation Startup EvolVR". dot.LA. https://dot.la/tripp-evolvr-medidation-2656549938.html. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Anna Heim (2022-06-01). "Why more funding equates more peace of mind for TRIPP and its users". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/01/why-more-funding-equates-more-peace-of-mind-for-tripp-and-its-users/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Keerthi Vedantam (2021-06-29). "How VR Company TRIPP Simulates Psychedelic Euphoria to Address Depression and Anxiety". dot.LA. https://dot.la/tripp-vr-2653584579.html. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 "TRIPP Vision". App Store. Apple. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tripp-vision/id6472496232. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "TRIPP: Calm Focus Sleep Ascend". App Store. Apple. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1465149118. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  21. ↑ Leah Martin (2025-04-29). "How four top developers found smooth sailing (and porting) with Android XR and Unity 6". Unity Blog. Unity Technologies. https://unity.com/blog/porting-apps-games-over-android-xr-unity-6. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Leah Martin (2025-10-22). "How to Build for Android XR - Day One Launches, Resources, and Inspiration". Unity Blog. Unity Technologies. https://unity.com/blog/how-to-build-for-android-xr-resources. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 "TRIPP". TRIPP. TRIPP, Inc.. https://www.tripp.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  24. ↑ "TRIPP: Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep". Meta Horizon Store. Meta Platforms. https://www.meta.com/experiences/tripp-meditation-relaxation-sleep/2173576192720129/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  25. ↑ C. A. Nicksic Sigmon, S. Y. Park, D. Bam, S. E. Rimel, D. L. Boeldt (2023). "Feasibility and Acceptability of Virtual Reality Mindfulness in Residents, Fellows, and Students at a University Medical Campus". Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, vol. 1, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpdig.2023.07.006. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  26. ↑ F. Cavallo, F. Campbell, H. Brubaker, K. Smith (2024-12-20). "A Case Study Utilizing Virtual Reality to Reduce Behavioral Symptoms and Brainwave Activity Related to Anxiety". NeuroRegulation, vol. 11, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.15540/nr.11.4.379. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  27. ↑ L. C. Greco, S. Bolognini, A. Lizio, et al. (2025-10-23). "User experience and cybersickness in neuromuscular patients using recreational immersive virtual reality". Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, vol. 21, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2025.2575088. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  28. ↑ S. Gentile, K. E. Penner, A. Sarcar, P. Patel, R. El-Gabalawy (2026). "Utilizing a publicly available, evidence-based virtual reality application for patients undergoing office-based urological procedures: A randomized feasibility trial". General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2026.02.013. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  29. ↑ "Study: Virtual Reality Effective for Ketamine-Assisted Therapy". HLTH. 2023-06-20. https://hlth.com/insights/news/study-virtual-reality-effective-for-ketamine-assisted-therapy-2023-06-20. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  30. ↑ S. Ghosal, M. Zhang, A. Bogosian, et al. (2026-03-18). "Virtual reality-based mindfulness applications: a commercial health app review". BMJ Health & Care Informatics, vol. 33, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2025-101510. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  31. ↑ "XR Awards 2025 winners revealed". Hiverlab. 2025-06-01. https://hiverlab.com/xr-awards-2025-winners-revealed/. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  32. ↑ "Presentation of AUREA Award Winners 2025". EAP Magazin. 2025-01-27. https://www.eap-magazin.de/Article/Presentation-of-AUREA-Award-Winners-2025.html. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
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