Updated November 25th, 2021 at 15:41 IST
Niantic to utilise Coatue's $300mn investment to develop real-world metaverse
In a recent turn of events, a global investment management firm called Coatue has invested a whopping $300 million into Niantic, the developers of Pokemon Go.
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Niantic, the creator of Pokemon Go (an AR-based gaming experience) has recently received an investment of $300 million from a global investment management firm called Coatue. Along with the generous investment, the total evaluation of the company has reached $9 billion.
Niantic will utilize the resources to develop the current games, build new experiences, the recently announced Lightship developer platform and pump its vision of the Niantic Metaverse.
Niantic will utilize $300 million to create better experiences for users
As mentioned in an official blog post, Niantic's Founder and CEO, John Hanke says "We’re building a future where the real world is overlaid with digital creations, entertainment and information, making it more magical, fun and informative." Adding to it, he says, "this will take a significant investment of talent, technology and imagination, and we're thrilled that Coatue is on this journey with us." Niantic also reveals that players have walked more than 17.5 billion kilometres while playing its games including Pokemon Go and Ingress.
Coatue General Partner says Niantic is building a "3D map of the world"
Matt Mazzeo, General Partner at Coatue says "Niantic is building a platform for AR based on a 3D map of the world that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing." Adding to it, Mazzeo says "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." To let people play Pokemon Go, the application has to sync with the local maps to allow people to explore the real world within the game.
Niantic recently partnered with Fold for creating a Bitcoin earning experience
Most recently, Niantic has also entered into a partnership with digital payments company called Fold to develop a new AR-based experience that lets users earn Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency. As mentioned in the official press release of the venture, the new experience will consist of blocks that will appear around the user and can be viewed using a smartphone's camera. If a user successfully opens the box, it will trigger "an explosion of rewards." The augmented reality expertise of Niantic will help Fold extend its current services where it already allows users to earn Bitcoin while paying for stuff through the Fold app.
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Published November 25th, 2021 at 15:41 IST
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