NextVR, a company synonymous with live virtual reality (VR) broadcasting has announced the completion of a Series B funding round. The round has netted the company $80 million USD to expand its global footprint.
This will enable NextVR to accelerate development of its VR platform and international operations, bringing more live entertainment – concerts, world-class sports and other performances – to consumers through its expanding global technology, entertainment and investment partners.
“With this new funding, we will continue to build NextVR’s virtual reality platform to meet the needs of the world’s largest fan bases around live sports and music content,” said Brad Allen, NextVR Executive Chairman. “Having the support of Asia’s biggest players provides us with significant resources for creating and distributing both local and international content in China, Korea, and Japan.”
Investors in the Series B round included NetEase, CITIC Guoan Information Industry Co. Ltd., China Media Capital, SoftBank Group, Founder H Fund, VMS Investments Group Limited, China Assets, and Spectrum 28. NextVR’s Series A round brought in $30.5 million and the investors who participated in the first round also participated in the second.
“This early stage strategic investment in NextVR reflects our commitment to the development of cutting-edge technologies for virtual reality (VR),” said Mr. William Ding, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NetEase. “We are true believers in live VR experiences and have great confidence in NextVR’s ability to lead in this field. We look forward to giving consumers an entirely new way to experience live events, as well as exploring possible synergies between our online games and media business and NextVR.”
NextVR has recently made several announcements regarding content partnerships. There’s been one with Live Nation to broadcast hundreds of performances in VR to fans across the world, another to deliver T-Mobiles Home Run Derby and with NBC Sports for the Kentucky Derby.
As NextVR continues its worldwide expansion, VRFocus will bring you the latest details.
