Manchester tech start-up Immotion has secured an additional £500,000 investment to speed up the roll-out of its virtual reality cinema pods.
The funding was provided by Sure Ventures, a venture capital fund which invests in early-stage software companies in the FinTech, AR and IoT sectors.
Immotion was set up by tech and media entrepreneurs Martin Higginson and David Marks, whose successes include Netplay TV and Monstermob. The company recently raised a £1.3m investment and has also acquired Studio Liddell and Los Angeles-based filmmakers C2K.
“We’re delighted to secure this funding from Sure, which shares our excitement in the enormous potential of the out-of-home VR experiences market,” said executive chairman Martin Higginson.
Immotion’s cinema pods allow users to enjoy immersive user experiences and are being placed in entertainment centres, theme parks and museums.
Most recently, the Yorkshire Museum used Immotion’s technology in its Jurassic World exhibition, an educational attraction opened by naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough in March 2018, who described the technology as “tremendous”.
Higginson added: “We believe our out-of-home experiences will allow people of all ages to experience the full immersive thrill of VR, including movement, in a safe and fun way.
“We have seen what is needed to deliver a great experience. Our VR cinema pods engage the senses by combining sight, sound and motion, along with premium content from our own award-winning studios, allowing us to help users genuinely escape reality.”
Gareth Burchell, director of Sure Ventures, said: “With more than £4 billion invested in the VR sector over the last two years, this is a booming global market, so we are delighted to support Immotion’s highly creative team as they embark on the next development phase.
“As one of the leading companies in the sector, Immotion offers significant growth opportunities. Demand for its VR cinema pods are gaining traction as customers increasingly look for new experiences and engage with the concept of being immersed in new virtual worlds.”
Immotion will use the £500,000 funds raised to fast-track its sales and marketing strategy, advance the roll-out of its product worldwide across Europe and US and create additional content.