SIMmersion LLC is a spinout of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). While working for JHU/APL in 1997, Dr. Dale Olsen developed the patented simulation technology PeopleSIM. His first simulation was designed to teach the skill of detecting deception during criminal investigative interviews by talking to the character, Mike Simmen. In 1998, Dr. Olsen delivered this technology to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to train new field agents. In turn, the FBI distributed the Mike Simmen simulation to law enforcement agencies around the country.

In 2002, Dr. Olsen founded SIMmersion LLC and obtained an exclusive license from JHU/APL for the technology. Since that time, SIMmersion has contracted directly with government sponsors and has been awarded several new contracts with the FBI as well as the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Forces Command, the intelligence community, and various institutes at the National Institutes of Health, including NIAAA, NIMH, and NIDA. SIMmersion's history also includes a number of rewarding collaborations with varied partners and successful work for numerous clients, both in the government and private sectors.