Niantic Secures $300 Million Investment at $9 billion Valuation

Niantic Inc., creator of Pokemon Go is now valued at $9 billion after receiving a $300 million investment from Coatue.

Niantic will deploy the funds to invest in its current games and new apps. It will also expand the Lightship developer platform, and build out its vision for the Real-World Metaverse.

CEO and Founder of Niantics, John Hanke said, “We’re building a future where the real world is overlaid with digital creations, entertainment, and information, making it more magical, fun, and informative. This will take a significant investment of talent, technology, and imagination, and we’re thrilled that Coatue is on this journey with us.”

“Niantic is building a platform for AR based on a 3D map of the world that we believe will play a critical role in the next transition in computing,” said Matt Mazzeo, a General Partner at Coatue. “We are excited to partner with Niantic because we see this infrastructure supporting a metaverse for the real world and helping to power the next evolution of the internet.”

Niantic launched the Lightship programme earlier this month to enable developers across the world to realize their visions for augmented reality and the Real-World Metaverse. The Lightship Platform is the foundation for Niantic’s own products, built on years of experience developing and running titles such as Ingress Prime and Pokémon GO.

Niantic’s mission is to inspire people to explore the world, together. Tens of millions of people play Niantic’s games each month, including Pokémon GO and Ingress.“Over the years, our players have walked more than 17.5 billion kilometers (10.9 billion miles), the company added.

Last month, Niantic and Nintendo launched Pikmin Bloom, a smartphone app designed to bring a little joy to everyday journeys on foot. Pikmin Bloom spices up your daily walks with the help of an adorable yet mischievous squad of Pikmin.