Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank led a $502m series B round for UK-based virtual reality development software provider Improbable today that valued the company at more than $1bn.
Venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Horizons Ventures also participated in the round, both having previously contributed to the company’s series A round along with Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek.
Improbable will use the funding to further develop its technology, and in particular SpatialOS, the distributed operating system it has built in order to help developers create huge-scale virtual reality simulations.
SpatialOS, which has been in live beta testing since March this year, will likely be used most for massive multiplayer games, but could also have applications in simulating transport infrastructure, telecom networks or to track the behaviour of fleets of autonomous vehicles.
The company had previously raised $50m, according to TechCrunch, with at least $20m of that coming from Andreessen Horowitz according to March 2015 press reports.
The series B represented a minority stake, which would place Improbable’s valuation at least as high as $1.04bn, and company CEO Hermann Narula told TechCrunch that SoftBank’s investment did not come from its Vision Fund.
Narula said in a blog post: “This investment reflects the potential size and importance of the market for this next generation of games and, ultimately, how massive-scale virtual worlds could become fundamental to how society works.
“SoftBank is a perfect partner for us, with many complementary investments in their portfolio. This investment will allow us to take the big, bold steps needed to fully realise our vision.”
SoftBank Group managing director Deep Nishar will join Improbable’s board of directors in conjunction with the round. He said: “Improbable is building breakthrough technologies that are becoming vital and valuable platforms for the global gaming industry.
“Beyond gaming, this new form of simulation on a massive scale has the potential to help us make better decisions about the world we live in. Improbable’s technology will help us explore disease, improve cities, understand economies and solve complex problems on a previously unimaginable scale.”