San Francisco based American software development company Niantic raises a $300 million investment from Coatue at a valuation of $9 billion to build the ‘real-world metaverse’. A blog post from Niantic confirmed the investment. Earlier this month, the company launched its first set of Augmented Reality Developer Kit tools, officially termed Lightship ARDK, for developers intending to build a “Real-World Metaverse”.
“We’re building a future where the real world is overlaid with digital creations, entertainment, and information, making it more magical, fun, and informative. This will take a significant investment of talent, technology, and imagination, and we’re thrilled that Coatue is on this journey with us.”
John Hanke, founder and ceo, niantic
Niantic to expand Lightship developer platform with $300 million investment
With a large-scale investment like this, Niantic said it will use the funds to invest in current games and new apps, and expand the Lightship developer platform, and build out its vision for the Real-World Metaverse.
Close personnel of Coatue said that the investment in Niantic’s platform will play a critical role in the next transition in computing. Matt Mazzeo, a General Partner at Coatue, said, “We are excited to partner with Niantic because we see this infrastructure supporting a metaverse for the real world and helping to power the next evolution of the internet.”
Real-World Metaverse won’t be a concept, it’s the future
Niantic’s plan with its Lightship platform will get a strong base after this. Unlike other tech giants like Facebook which is focusing on VR-based reality, Niantic is building AR technology for smartphones. Because of being easily accessible, most people will get the advantage of this tech, and the “dystopian nightmare” created by others will have to face Niantic’s creation as a strong contender.
We’ll get to watch which may reign in the future as the implementation of these techs depends on the presentation, easy accessibility, investment, demand, and others.
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