Timmy Ghiurau leads Volvo Cars’ initiative around virtual and augmented reality, and works with virtual simulations, eye tracking, and Virtual Reality (VR) as enablers for self-driving cars and user experience research.

Though he wouldn’t call himself a car person, Timmy quickly fell in love with the automotive industry as a Masters thesis student at Volvo’s Copenhagen office in 2014. It wasn’t just because he felt that Volvo tried to redefine mobility and push for innovation, safety and sustainability – he also resonated with the development of a product that will be multiplied and accessible to millions of users.

After having given the rock star career a stab in his teens, Timmy’s maths skills, C++ knowledge and interest in game engines put him on the path to be a software developer focused on eye tracking and VR. That path lead him to work closely with the founders of game engine Unity; to a stint at Danish eye-tracking start-up The Eye Tribe (later acquired by Facebook’s VR division Oculus); and to a few patents in foveated rendering (an advanced technology used in VR head-sets). At Volvo Cars, he puts his knowledge into use by setting the trend on how car companies use game engines and AR/VR technologies in their development.

Timmy holds a Master’s degree in Innovative Communication Technologies and Entrepreneurship from Aalborg University in Copenhagen, regularly advises both tech and fashion companies, and helps Volvo Cars' Tech Fund with spotting new opportunities in tech start-ups.