In the last two years, gaming has been one of the most popular entertainment categories. A gaming startup that is building a new kind of platform that it thinks will be a game-changer in the category is announcing some funding.
It mixes games with a game show/talk show format, and it's designed to work across various devices from mobile through to consoles and virtual reality headsets. The startup is based in Norway but has a significant presence in Los Angeles and plans to use the funding to continue building out its platform and operations.
The team at PortalOne Arcade has built a great game, and they are currently running a sign-up list for people who want to try it out, but they have a lot of plans for the future.
Tiger Global is leading this round, a Series A, with Scooter Braun's TQ Venture and other investors. This round is notable for its size and the fact that PortalOne raised a $15 million seed round eight months ago. Atari is working with PortalOne to include some of its brands in that Arcade launch.
In an interview, the CEO of the startup said that the company plans to release a game later this year, but in a closed alpha. He said this proves that the technology that it has assembled, which brings together cutting-edge games design, live broadcast, interactivity, and a low-cost approach to capturing and processing video all in the cloud, isScalable.
He said that it was a high number of shows, considering the complexity involved.
The plan is to set up more of these in other cities around the world, as the company has been building out its studio in LA.
In the midst of a perfect storm, PortalOne is building its business.
A lot of consumers who are confined to staying at home during the Pandemic have found gaming to be a lifesaver. That has led to record levels of interest and engagement in games, and that has in turn resulted in a host of new entrants into the space.
The category has become the hottest among tech startups at the moment, with investors rushing to put money into what they believe are the most promising players in the field. In the last couple of weeks, Yahaha and Spyke both announced that they had raised over 50 million dollars, with neither of them having yet launched anything. Both are running pilot projects that cost a lot of money. Dream Games, a startup that was launched last year, has reached a paper valuation of $2.75 billion after its round, which was announced earlier this month.
It's fitting that PortalOne is a part of a Zeitgeist. Metaverse has become one of the buzzy phrases of the moment, and while it is leaning dangerously close to getting overused and rendered meaningless.
One of the big issues with virtual reality and augmented reality is a lack of compelling content, along with other hurdles. PortalOne is flexible and can be used on any platform a user might have to use.
Its focus on creating both lean-back (broadcast) entertainment mixed with engaging game play, using a lot of familiar gaming brands alongside completely new titles, is a mix that will be potentially poised to appeal to different users and different states of mind.
Bard tells me that the startup has been talking to a lot of companies in the gaming and social space, from those operating platforms through to console giants and those publishing content, and companies building tech to make it all happen. The company is focused on building its own walled garden of sorts, the Arcade, where people will play. Even if PortalOne creates an experience to be used in someone else's metaverse, it will hold on to bringing people into its own.
The platform built by PortalOne is part of that.
Bard said that one of the big things they solved early on was how to scale this. The modular approach has both to do with how video and play is captured, but also with how PortalOne re-uses components across different games.
The investors think that the sauce will be popular.
We believe that PortalOne is building an innovative experience at the intersection of gaming and entertainment. Evan Feinberg, partner of Tiger Global, said in a statement that they were excited to back the Kasin brothers and their team.
Scooter Braun said that OnePortal is building a platform that will appeal to every category of performer.
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