E-commerce firm Alibaba invested in US-based virtual reality (VR) entertainment provider Sandbox VR yesterday as part of a $68m series A round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Stanford University also participated in the round, along with VC firm Floodgate, CRCM Ventures, which functions as the VC arm of investment manager ChinaRock Capital Management, and growth equity firm TriplePoint Capital.
Founded in 2016, Sandbox VR operates interactive VR entertainment venues at public locations such as shopping malls that let customers play high-definition VR media and games in an expansive, social environment.
The experience caters to groups of two to six people and can be shared by customers through social media outlets such as Instagram. It is currently available at seven locations across the US, Canada and Asia, Sandbox having opened the first centre in Hong Kong in 2017.
The company eventually hopes to create a service similar to the holodeck in the Star Trek franchise, whereby VR technology can simulate entire physical environments, and is lining up a partnership with a world-famous fictional brand, it said in a blog post announcing the round.
Sandbox VR will use the series A capital to deliver new content, and to open additional venues. Tokyo, Macau and Indonesia are all under consideration for entry, as is Hangzhou in mainland China, while founder and CEO Steve Zhao told Business Insider it has earmarked several spots in the US.
“We have locations planned for Los Angeles, Austin, New York and Chicago, and we have inked multiple deals with Westfield malls across the country,” Zhao said.