The Riverside Company has invested in Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a developer and provider of games for training technology and interactive simulation systems sold to defence, emergency and mission-critical customers.
Bohemia supplies the US Department of Defence, UK Ministry of Defence, Australian Defence Force and a range of other international clients. Bohemia’s flagship product, Virtual Battle space 2 (VBS2), is the de-facto industry standard within its segment.
VBS2 is a fully interactive, three-dimensional training and simulation system suitable for a wide range of military or commercial training and experimentation purposes, particularly for tactical training and mission rehearsal scenarios.
Bohemia was founded in 2001 in Australia, and has since 2007 been led by chief executive Pete Morrison, who was previously a captain in the Australian Army. Once retired from the armed forces, Morrison and Bohemia chief technology officer, Dr Mark Dzulko, saw tremendous growth opportunity in the simulation field, as the provision of high-quality training across a wide range of skills and scenarios was critical to the effectiveness of modern militaries. Together, they fostered an alliance with Bohemia Interactive Studio, the producer of the popular Arma series of entertainment games based on simulating military combat, and grew Bohemia as a joint venture.
Bohemia’s central sales offices are in the US, part of the Team Orlando area of excellence for military simulation technology. In addition, Bohemia has major sales and operations offices in the UK, Australia, Czech Republic, and, most recently, Poland, with plans for further international expansion.
“Riverside’s experience in the technology space, and our international structure and reach make us an ideal partner for Bohemia,” says Riverside partner Martin Scott, who leads Riverside’s software and IT specialisation in Europe.
Riverside has completed more than 20 software investments, and has a dedicated team of experts in the technology field.
“Bohemia is leading the way in a technology segment which is already experiencing extremely strong and sustained growth, and will do so in the coming years,” says Scott. “VBS2 and the pipeline of innovations and products that Bohemia has are setting the standards in this dynamic space. These products and services are transforming the way in which military personnel are trained. Most importantly, the use of these training tools leads to saving lives.”
“We’re delighted about partnering with Riverside,” says Morrison. “Their global footprint and deep knowledge of the software industry will help us continue expanding and meeting the dynamic needs of our clients.”
