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Niantic Raises $200m Investment

Date Type Companies involved Size
November 27th, 2017 Niantic $200m
Niantic Raises $200m Investment

Pokemon GO developer Niantic has raised $200 million in a series B investment round. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the funding round was led by Spark Capital and also included Founders Fund, Meritech, Javelin Venture Capital and You & Mr. Jones.

Interestingly, one of the backers was one of China’s biggest games publishers, NetEase. The publisher has launched games such as Fantasy Westward Journey, Ghost and Onmyoji. As part of the funding round, Spark Capital Partner Megan Quinn has joined the board at Niantic.

Niantic previously raised $30 million in a series A funding round in 2015, with backers including The Pokemon Company, Nintendo and Google.

The latest investment news comes shortly after the augmented reality and location-based gaming specialist unveiled its latest game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. It’s set to follow on from Niantic’s smash hit mobile title Pokemon GO, which reportedly took just over seven months to generate $1 billion in revenue through in-app purchases.

Less reported by data companies however is the revenues the studio has earned through sponsored locations for the game and other partnerships, bringing potential earnings up significantly higher. Pokemon GO continues to gross well and anticipation is high for what it will do with the hugely popular Harry Potter licence.


Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.