SPACES Inc., a new company co-founded by, CEO Shiraz Akmal and CTO Brad Herman, has announced today that it’s secured $3 million USD in initial funding, led by Comcast Ventures.
The company specialises in enabling leading companies and brands to bring virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences to consumers. SPACES is already working with companies such as Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Big Blue Bubble and The Hettema Group, for platforms including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens, Samsung Gear VR, PlayStation VR and Google Cardboard.
The funding round, while led by Comcast Ventures, also included Boost VC; Canyon Creek Capital; Colopl VR Fund; GREE Inc.; Kai Huang; The Venture Reality Fund; the Sinovation Fund; and Youku Global Media Fund and CRCM VC.
“SPACES has a compelling and clear vision to be the catalyst for companies looking to create VR and MxR experiences,” said Comcast Ventures Managing Director Michael Yang. “SPACES is combining remarkable capabilities, tools and creativity to push the boundaries of the VR frontier.”
Kai-Fu Lee, Founder and CEO of Sinovation Fund, said SPACES brings new insight into virtual and mixed reality. “All around the globe, VR is transforming how we build, create and publish content, and how we experience the world. The SPACES team has the ability and the background to make an enormous impact on VR and MxR, and I am eager to see what they accomplish.”
The team has a broad background in filmmaking, videogames and themeparks. With Akmal previously being VP of operations-product development at THQ, and executive creative director Dean Orion’s career has included writing for television and creating interactive attractions.
Projects completed so far include Dragons VR flying experience for Oculus Rift, the initial version of DreamWorks Color, an augmented reality (AR) app that brings children’s 2D creations to life; and the DreamWorks VR app.
VRFocus will bring you the latest project details from SPACES as announcements are made.
