Maria Ribeiro Soares
Engineer. Founder.
I'm a Portuguese founder and Electrical & Computer engineer. I started Immersiv Studios in 2023 and we shipped since then 35+ AR, VR, and gamification projects for international brands. I sit on the board of Euromersive, the European XR Association, and was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 by Instituto Superior Tecnico. I speak regularly at international conferences about the future of immersive technology. When I'm not working, I'm probably running, surfing, or reading.
Now
I'm building again. Currently interested in AI and the intersection of spatial computing and data.
Experience
XR startup building scalable immersive solutions. Led the development of 35+ experiences across education, retail, and brand engagement. 20+ clients including global and national brands. Work featured in national media and exhibited internationally.
Distinctions: Winner, Pitch PME by Credito Agricola (2025) · Finalist, Premios Emprende XXI (2025) · Top 6 Finalist, Santander X Portugal Awards (2025) · Top 50, Startup World Cup Portugal (2025) · Selected Startup Showcase, Web Summit (2025)
Euromersive · European XR Association
Representing Portugal in international discussions about XR technologies. Building partnerships between local and European stakeholders. Contributing to the strategic direction of the European immersive tech ecosystem.
University of Coimbra
Bridged academia and industry, giving students practical insight into XR development and user-centered design. Guided real-world project cycles from ideation to prototype.
Student evaluations: 4.5 out of 5 to 5 out of 5 across all categories (teaching quality, clarity, engagement, availability). 100% pass rate. "Excellent professor. I hope the department values her work."
Co-founded by 6 members and friends to fill a gap: Portugal had no home for XR professionals. Each meetup, we pick a theme, bring the right people into the room, and have the conversations that matter for the future of immersive tech in Portugal and beyond. 3 editions so far in Lisbon and Porto.
Founder Institute · NOVA Haddad Entrepreneurship Institute · Techstars Startup Weekend
Building is hard, and it can be especially hard for women in tech. I mentor because if my experience can help others keep going and dreaming bigger, that matters to me. Mentor rating: 8 out of 9 (Founder Institute).
INESC-ID Lisbon
Multivehicle control and coordination. Investigated distributed optimal control for cyber-physical systems, adaptive algorithms for mobile robots, game-theory-based coordination, and multi-robot system methodologies.
Speaking & Media
I speak regularly at international conferences about immersive technology, spatial computing, AI, and emerging technologies. Recent stages include APPM National Marketing Congress, Immersive Tech Week (Rotterdam), Portugal Digital Summit, Ordem dos Engenheiros, GatherVerse, Web Summit, Porto Tech Hub, and the Global Startups Conference (Toronto).
Corporate and institutional speaker at ANACOM, Vieira de Almeida (VdA), GfK, Vodafone Innovation Lab, Instituto Superior Tecnico, NOVA SBE, and Universidade Catolica.
Featured in SIC Noticias, RTP, Financial Times, Observador, PME Magazine, Event Point, and Briefing. Contributor to the Portugal XR Report 2024 & 2025.
Education
Instituto Superior Tecnico, University of Lisbon
Major: Systems, Decision & Control (AI, Robotics, Machine Learning). Minor: Telecommunications. Grade: 16/20. Thesis: Coordinated Control of Quadcopters for Large Object Positioning.
Awards
1st edition Alumni Award by Instituto Superior Tecnico. Alongside Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, winner of the Career Award.
Entrepreneurship Awards by Unicorn Factory Lisboa.
1st edition by Credito Agricola. Pitched and won representing Immersiv Studios.
Reading
Papers, articles, and reports I'm currently reading.
A Path Towards Autonomous Machine Intelligence
Yann LeCun's position paper on world models and the JEPA architecture.
Causal-JEPA: Learning World Models through Object-Level Latent Interventions
Extending JEPA with causal reasoning for world models.
Books
Some that shaped how I think. More on Goodreads.
Currently reading
- Black Swan · Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Non-fiction
- Leonardo da Vinci · Walter Isaacson
- Factfulness · Hans Rosling
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention · Reed Hastings
- The School of Life: An Emotional Education · Alain de Botton
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike · Phil Knight
Fiction (I clearly need to read more of it)
- The Midnight Library · Matt Haig
- 1984 · George Orwell
- Brave New World · Aldous Huxley
Interests
Spatial computing, augmented reality, behavioral data, computer vision, multi-agent systems, startups & venture, women in STEM, public speaking, running, surfing, reading.
Contact