Niantic, the company known for developing the augmented reality game Pokémon Go, has just raised $300m from Coatue, bringing its valuation to $9bn. The US startup plans to use its new funds to build what it calls the “real world metaverse. “
The creators of the video game Pokémon Go are starting to develop their own metaverse. Indeed, the American company Niantic has just finalised a $300 million fundraising from the investment fund Coatue. All of the funds raised will be used to build a metaverse.
The video game Pokémon Go, which appeared on Android and iOS in 2016, is rapidly becoming a real social phenomenon. The craze is such that Nintendo’s share price climbs by more than 90% a few days after the game’s official release.
After such a success, Niantic, which is behind this video game exploiting the Pokémon licence, intends to ride the wave of metaverses and create its own virtual world. However, unlike many projects that choose the 100% virtual route, Niantic is instead opting for augmented reality, to add a virtual overlay to the real world.
With its experience in developing games using augmented reality, Niantic has all the cards in hand to create an immersive experience that will find its audience.
However, at this point, it is unclear whether Niantic’s future metaverse will incorporate blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in any way.
Niantic is building a 3D world map-based augmented reality platform that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing,” said Matt Mazzeo, a general partner at Coatue. “We see this infrastructure supporting a metaverse for the real world and helping to fuel the next evolution of the Internet.
A completely open metaverse
Earlier this month, Niantic unveiled its AR Lightship Development Kit (ARDK), which provides developers with free tools to create augmented reality games from the Unity game engine.
This initiative shows that Niantic is not closed to outside contributions, and that its metaverse could be partly built by its community.
We are building a future where the real world is layered with digital creations, entertainment and information, making it more magical, fun and educational,” said John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic. “This will require a significant investment in talent, technology and imagination, and we are thrilled that Coatue is on this journey with us.
