The augmented reality platform that is developing games like Pokémon GO raised $300 million from Coatue. The startup will use the money to build a real-world metaverse.
John Hanke, the founder and CEO of Niantic, referred to the metaverse as a "dystopian nightmare" as early as August. Unlike Facebook, which changed its company name to Meta to signal its investment in virtual reality technology, Niantic wants to develop technology that brings people closer to the outside world. The Lightship AR Developer Kit (ARDK) was unveiled by Niantic earlier this month and is open to anyone who has a basic knowledge of the Unity game engine.
Hanke said at the time that they believe humans are the happiest when they are in a virtual world. A real-world metaverse will use technology to improve our experience of the world as we have known it for thousands of years.
The funding will help expand the augmented reality toolkit, which has already been used by companies such as Coachella, Historic Royal Palaces, Universal Pictures, SoftBank, Warner Music Group and the PGA of America. Instead of using technology like virtual reality headsets, which are still not accessible to most of the population, the augmented reality projects use phones to encourage people to explore their surroundings. A user-generated description of a mural in Pokémon GO might tell you what it really is. Tens of millions of people play each month and walk more than 10 billion miles in their games since launch.
The EC-1 is from Niantic.
The next transition in computing will be based on a 3D map of the world that Niantic is building a platform for. We see this infrastructure supporting a metaverse for the real world and helping to power the next evolution of the internet by partnering with Niantic.
Hanke thinks that the virtual reality metaverse is adystopian, but like any technology, it has its problems. Elderly or disabled players can be alienating to the game's design. The community of disabled players of Pokémon GO have had to speak out about how certain small in-game changes can make the game more accessible for people with limited mobility.
An alternative to Meta's headset dependent plans can be found in Niantic's vision. According to Sensor Tower, Pokémon GO earned over $1 billion in 2020 and is on track to surpass that revenue this year. The company recently announced it will shut down Harry Potter: Wizards Unite after consumer spending and global installs dropped. As independent developers get their hands on the Lightship ARDK, we will see how far the concept of a real-world metaverse can go.
