Earlier last year VRFocus reported on the newly formed virtual reality (VR) company SPACES Inc., securing millions in funding to support the creation of immersive experiences for the entertainment industry, theme parks in particular. This week the company has announced an additional $6.5 million USD in funding has been raised, led by China-based Songcheng Performances Development Co. Ltd.
This SPACES’ funding round includes additional investment from Comcast Ventures, the venture-capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation, as well as Boost VC; Colopl VR Fund; GREE Inc.; Kai Huang; The Venture Reality Fund; and Youku Global Media Fund and CRCM VC – all of whom were initial investors in SPACES Inc. This new investment will be combined with a previously announced $30-million SPACES-Songcheng theme-park joint venture from 2016.
“Through our SPACES Parks & Attractions division, we’re fundamentally reimagining the theme park experience with stunning advances in VR technology,” said SPACES co-founder and CEO Shiraz Akmal. “Together with our Songcheng joint venture, this new capital expands our efforts to create entirely new kinds of VR-enabled destinations.”
Co-founder and CTO Brad Herman added, “It’s exciting to be at the center of the convergence of creativity, technology and theme parks. The future of VR and mixed reality will bring to life immersive experiences on a grand scale.”
Alongside the funding announcement SPACES also revealed that former DreamWorks Animation CFO Fazal Merchant; Comcast Ventures’ managing director Michael Yang; and Ethan Wang, general manager of Songcheng Technology, will serve on its newly established board of directors. “SPACES is poised for unprecedented opportunity in the global theme-park market,” Yang said. “I look forward to helping the team navigate the quickly growing VR entertainment space as a board member and investor.”
In the coming months SPACES and Songcheng will be unveiling more details about their theme park projects, so keep reading VRFocus for further details.