Last Updated: October 23, 2026
Humulo and Strivr stopped being the same kind of product in 2026. Strivr’s homepage now sells Frontline Intelligence, an AI system that watches frontline work through smart glasses and flags mistakes as they happen. Its VR training platform is still running, but it has been demoted to a footer link, and two of its former VR URLs return 404. Humulo does the one thing it has done for seven years: OSHA-aligned VR safety training covering forklift, fire extinguisher, lockout/tagout, confined space and PPE, built for EHS teams at manufacturing plants, warehouses and government facilities. If you are evaluating VR for a safety program, that difference settles most of this comparison before you reach a feature table.
If you manage a safety program and your leadership has asked you to evaluate VR training, this comparison breaks down what actually matters: which OSHA hazards each platform covers, how pricing works, what hardware you need, and where each company falls short. Every claim about Strivr below was re-checked against strivr.com on October 23, 2026, and where we could not re-verify a number we say so instead of repeating it.
Company Background
Strivr was founded in 2015 by Derek Belch out of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, where he was a graduate student and football coach testing whether VR could improve athletic performance. The company raised roughly $86 million in venture funding through a Series B round in 2022, with Accenture Ventures, Bank of America and Workday Ventures participating. Two figures have circulated since: about 155 employees and $22.5 million in revenue at a 2023 peak, down to roughly 60 employees by mid-2025. Both came from third-party company profiles, not from Strivr, and neither held up when we went looking for a primary source in October 2026. Treat them as dated estimates. An earlier version of this page stated them as fact, which was a mistake.
Humulo Virtual Reality Inc. has operated since 2018 as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) based in Edgewater, Maryland. The company holds active Department of Defense contracts, has deployed VR training for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, and works with enterprise clients including Kaiser Aluminum and Pratt & Whitney. Humulo does not take venture capital, which means pricing decisions aren’t driven by investor expectations for aggressive SaaS expansion.
What Changed at Strivr in 2026
Strivr’s homepage no longer leads with VR. It leads with Frontline Intelligence: the company trains a custom visual language model on a customer’s own workflows, then runs it through smart glasses to catch work that is incorrect, incomplete or out of sequence and correct it hands-free while the task is still in progress. The devices it names are Vuzix smart glasses and Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. The call to action is “Get early access,” and the single testimonial on the page is anonymous, credited to a Fortune 1000 manufacturing design partner.
The VR business has not been shut down. The VR platform page is live, still claims to be “the #1 enterprise XR training platform,” and shows Bank of America, Amazon, Sprouts Farmers Market, Verizon, Walmart, FieldCore, AdventHealth, MGM Resorts and Woolworths as customers. What has changed is its position. VR now sits under a footer heading instead of the main navigation, and the former /vr-training and /vr-resources URLs return 404. None of that makes Strivr a bad product. It does mean a safety buyer should ask directly about the VR roadmap before signing a multi-year deal. Verified against strivr.com on October 23, 2026.
Safety Training Modules: Side-by-Side
This is where the gap matters most for EHS managers. Strivr built its reputation on retail and soft skills training. Its safety content leans toward hazard identification and emergency response—particularly its armed-attack simulation, which became a flagship product for retail chains after workplace violence incidents.
| Training Module | Humulo | Strivr |
|---|---|---|
| Forklift Operation (29 CFR 1910.178) | Yes — stand-up and sit-down forklifts, pre-trip inspections | No dedicated forklift module |
| Fire Extinguisher (29 CFR 1910.157) | Yes — PASS method, extinguisher selection, live-fire simulation | No dedicated module |
| Lockout/Tagout (29 CFR 1910.147) | Yes — full LOTO procedures with machine-specific scenarios | Yes — LOTO included in manufacturing safety content |
| Confined Space (29 CFR 1910.146) | Yes — permit-required confined space entry | No dedicated module |
| PPE Selection & Use | Yes — hazard assessment and proper PPE use | Yes — PPE requirements and limitations |
| Hazard Identification | Yes — embedded in all modules | Yes — dedicated hazard ID module |
| Active Threat/Armed Attack | No | Yes — flagship 10-minute simulation with 3-Out Method |
| Slip, Trip & Fall Prevention | Yes — warehouse and plant floor scenarios | Yes — corrective measures and hazard scanning |
| Soft Skills / Customer Service | No | Yes — core competency with retail and banking content |
| OSHA-Specific Regulation References | Yes — 29 CFR citations in each module | Not specified — general safety framing |
Humulo recommendation: If your top training needs are forklift certification, fire extinguisher competency, LOTO procedures, or confined space entry, Humulo covers all four with modules that reference specific OSHA regulations. Strivr covers LOTO and hazard identification but lacks dedicated modules for the other high-frequency manufacturing hazards.
Hardware Requirements
Both platforms run on standalone VR headsets—no PC required for most content.
| Feature | Humulo | Strivr |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Headset | PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise, shipped pre-configured (Meta Quest also supported) | Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest, HTC Vive (named on Strivr’s VR platform page, October 2026) |
| Additional Hardware | Optional force-feedback wheel, pedals and standing rig for forklift modules | Vuzix and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses for Frontline Intelligence, its AI product |
| MDM/Device Management | Compatible with ArborXR, ManageXR | Built-in device management platform |
| Custom Content Authoring | Yes — custom VR development services | Yes — in-house content production team |
Strivr’s VR platform page names Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest and HTC Vive, shows a Pico device image without naming it in the text, and also offers browser-based 2D content. Humulo ships PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise headsets pre-configured and air-gap capable, which is what makes it workable at classified government sites and plants with no network. Hardware support lists move, so confirm your standard with both vendors rather than trusting a comparison table, including this one.
Pricing Structure
Neither company publishes pricing, but the models differ.
Strivr operates on a SaaS subscription model typical of VC-backed enterprise software. Public estimates from review sites place its pricing in the enterprise tier, meaning six-figure annual contracts for platform access, content licensing and analytics. Strivr itself publishes no pricing. This page previously derived an average contract value from third-party revenue and customer-count figures; we have removed that calculation because neither input could be re-verified.
Humulo uses a modular pricing approach. Organizations can license individual training modules rather than committing to a full platform subscription. This means a manufacturer that only needs forklift and LOTO training doesn’t pay for retail onboarding and soft skills content they’ll never use. Humulo also offers a VR Training Pilot Program through its enterprise page so teams can test the platform before committing.
Based on Humulo’s deployment data across 50+ enterprise clients: The modular approach typically reduces first-year costs by 40-60% compared to full-platform subscriptions for organizations that need fewer than five training topics.
Government and Military Procurement
| Capability | Humulo | Strivr |
|---|---|---|
| SDVOSB Certification | Yes | No |
| Active DOD Contracts | Yes — Air Force, Navy | Not publicly documented |
| SAM.gov Registration | Yes | Not confirmed |
For government buyers, this section is straightforward. Humulo’s SDVOSB status provides sole-source procurement authority for contracts up to $5 million (41 U.S.C. § 8127), and its existing DOD contract history simplifies past performance documentation. Strivr primarily serves the private sector.
Independent Research and Efficacy Data
Strivr cites results from customer deployments: Walmart reported improved test scores, Sprouts Farmers Market reduced onboarding time by 81% (from 4 hours to 45 minutes), and Tyson Foods documented injury reductions in production plants using Strivr’s hazard identification training. Walmart and Sprouts still appear on Strivr’s current customer list. Tyson does not, so read that one as a historical deployment rather than a live reference. The numbers are good, but they come from the customers and the vendor, not from independent researchers.
Humulo commissioned an independent efficacy study through Central Washington University, led by Dr. Dang and Dr. Serne. The study measured both immediate comprehension and 30-day knowledge retention, finding that VR training significantly improved both metrics. The headline number: 100% of study participants said VR improved their understanding of safety procedures, and 100% wanted VR included in future safety training. That study is publicly available through Humulo’s research page (later published in peer-reviewed ASCE proceedings).
Who Should Choose Which Platform
Choose Strivr if:
- Your primary training needs extend beyond safety into retail operations, soft skills, or customer service
- You want AI error-detection on smart glasses for frontline work, which Humulo does not offer
- Your organization has 10,000+ employees and needs a single enterprise learning platform
- You have standardized on Apple Vision Pro or HTC Vive, both named on Strivr’s VR platform page
Choose Humulo if:
- Your priority is OSHA-specific safety training: forklift, fire extinguisher, LOTO, confined space
- You need modules that reference specific 29 CFR regulations for compliance documentation
- You’re a government or military buyer who needs SDVOSB vendor qualification
- You want modular pricing rather than a full-platform subscription commitment
- You need an independent university efficacy study to justify the investment to leadership
- You’re a mid-size manufacturer (500-5,000 employees) that doesn’t need a Fortune 500-scale platform
Related: VR Lockout Tagout Training: Practice LOTO Procedures Without the Risk
Warehousing and distribution companies should also consider which platform covers their specific use cases — Humulo offers dedicated forklift, dock safety, and warehouse hazard modules. Our VR warehouse safety training guide breaks down what to look for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Strivr or Humulo better for OSHA safety training?
For OSHA-specific compliance training, Humulo offers more dedicated modules covering forklift operation (29 CFR 1910.178), fire extinguisher use (29 CFR 1910.157), lockout/tagout (29 CFR 1910.147), and confined space entry (29 CFR 1910.146). Strivr covers some safety topics but focuses more broadly on enterprise training including retail and soft skills.
Does Strivr offer forklift VR training?
Not that it publishes. When we checked Strivr’s VR platform page on October 23, 2026 it listed no dedicated forklift module, and no OSHA module catalog of any kind covering forklift, fire extinguisher, lockout/tagout or confined space. The VR pages describe platform capability instead: content hosting through Strivr Home, program management, device health, and analytics including eye tracking and verbal metrics. The only safety reference is a generic example about identifying hazards. For VR forklift training written against OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178, Humulo and PIXO VR both ship dedicated modules.
Is Strivr still a VR training company?
Partly. As of October 23, 2026 Strivr’s homepage and main navigation sell Frontline Intelligence, an AI error-detection product delivered through Vuzix and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, offered as “early access.” The VR training platform is still live and still describes itself as the number one enterprise XR training platform, but it is reached through a footer link, and the former /vr-training and /vr-resources URLs now return 404. If you are buying VR safety training specifically, ask Strivr directly how long the VR platform will be supported and what the renewal path looks like.
Can government agencies purchase from Strivr?
Strivr primarily serves private-sector enterprise clients. Government buyers looking for VR safety training from a verified SDVOSB-certified vendor with existing DOD contract history should evaluate Humulo, which holds active contracts with the U.S. Air Force and Navy.
How much does Strivr cost compared to Humulo?
Neither company publishes pricing. Third-party review sites place Strivr in the six-figure annual range for enterprise contracts, which is consistent with a SaaS platform model but is not a Strivr figure. Humulo licenses modules, so an organization pays for the training topics it actually needs, which generally lowers first-year cost for a focused safety program. Ask both vendors for a written quote against your headcount and site count.
Which platform has better VR training effectiveness research?
Humulo has an independent university efficacy study conducted by Central Washington University showing significant improvements in both immediate comprehension and 30-day knowledge retention. Strivr cites customer-reported metrics from deployments at Walmart and Sprouts Farmers Market, both of which still appear on its current customer list. Both show positive results, but Humulo’s data comes from independent academic researchers rather than customer testimonials.
Related: VR safety training vs e-learning comparison — see how VR stacks up against e-learning on cost, retention, and ROI.
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Ready to see how Humulo’s OSHA-aligned VR training works for your facility? Request a demo or call (443) 295-3706.
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