UK-based metaverse technology developer Improbable has secured $150m in a funding round co-led by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz co-led the round, which also featured quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group, Mirana, Digital Currency Group and Ethereal Ventures.
Founded in 2012 as a University of Cambridge spinout, Improbable is developing technology to facilitate large-scale immersive metaverse environments where significant numbers of players can inhabit the same space at the same time.
The company will use the funding to launch MSquared, a network of interlinked metaverses underpinned by Improbable’s large-scale-enabling Morpheus technology – which can host over 10,000 players in the same space – and bring together communities in areas such as fashion, art, sports and entertainment, allowing them to interact with each other.
Internet company NetEase made a $50m investment in Improbable in 2018 at a reported valuation of $2bn. Vision Fund 2 had led its $502m series B round the previous year to take its total funding to $552m, after Andreessen Horowitz provided $20 million as part of a 2015 series A round also featuring Temasek and Horizons Ventures.
Improbable chief executive Herman Narula said: “We founded Improbable to make real the promise of incredible online worlds that were more than just games – they were extensions of our lives.
“I believe the metaverse and Web3 movement, though very early, represent a once-in-a-generation redefinition of our society towards a ‘fulfilment economy’ where experiences made by an open network of creators and businesses can create enormous opportunity for everyone.
“M² is our contribution to establishing this future and we hope to help our partners catalyse an open metaverse with many participants and success stories. We are excited to be actively working with some of the best investors in the space in building out this new ecosystem.”
Image courtesy of Improbable.
