AltspaceVR, a social virtual reality technology developer backed by internet company Tencent, mass media group Comcast and internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, will close down at tomorrow, it has announced.
Founded in 2013, AltspaceVR had built a mobile platform that allowed users to socialise with each other and attend events in virtual reality using avatars. The product is used by about 35,000 people each month.
The company had received a total of $15.7m in venture capital, but it revealed in a blog post last week that it would be forced to close after a deal for its next round fell through, meaning it cannot afford to maintain operations.
The shortfall in funding came weeks after a Texas-based company sued AltspaceVR and several other companies including aerospace firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin, alleging patent infringement.
Alphabet subsidiary GV joined Tencent, Raine Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Lux Capital, Western Technology Investments (WTI), Promus Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Rothenberg Ventures, Formation 8, Foundation Capital, SV Angel and Haystack Fund for AltspaceVR’s $5.2m seed round in 2014.
Tencent, Raine Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Lux Capital, WTI, Promus Ventures, Streamlined Ventures and Rothenberg Ventures returned for a $10.3m series A round in 2015 alongside Comcast’s corporate venturing unit, Comcast Ventures, and Maven Ventures.
AltSpaceVR said in the blog post: “We are all humbled by what you made of this virtual oasis. Thank you for spending your time building, hosting and making the best community we could have wished for.
“Please take the next week to make sure those connections live on past AltspaceVR. Because if you do, then what we built will really live on.”