The company behind Pokémon GO, Niantic lays off 8% of staff and cancels 4 projects

The company behind Pokémon GO, Niantic lays off 8% of staff and cancels 4 projects

Pokémon GO developer Niantic is running into trouble as it builds “the real-world metaverse.” Like so many other tech companies facing turbulent economic times, the company decided to let go of 8% of its staff, affecting about 85 to 90 people. Just seven months ago, the company raised $300 million at a $9 billion valuation, […]

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Niantic transcends Discord to build Campfire, an AR social network, and unveils Lightship VPS

Niantic transcends Discord to build Campfire, an AR social network, and unveils Lightship VPS

Since the launch of Pokémon Go in 2016, players have been coordinating meetups, in-game raids and battles on platforms like Reddit and Discord. This summer, parent company Niantic is unveiling Campfire, a social networking service designed to help mobile augmented reality (AR) gamers connect. Niantic’s games incentivize people to use their technology to go outside […]

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Niantic makes another acquisition, absorbing AR studio NZXR

Niantic makes another acquisition, absorbing AR studio NZXR

Just a month after its last acquisition of the WebAR development platform 8th Wall, Niantic announced its purchase of New Zealand-based augmented reality studio NZXR today. These strategic acquisitions are part of Niantic’s overarching plan to build what it calls a “real-world metaverse,” which is dependent on AR rather than VR. NZXR formed during the […]

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Niantic raises $300M at a $9B valuation to build the ‘real-world metaverse’

Niantic raises $300M at a $9B valuation to build the ‘real-world metaverse’

Niantic, the augmented reality platform that’s developing games like Pokémon GO, raised $300 million from Coatue, valuing the company at $9 billion. The San Fransisco-based startup, which initially spun out of Google, will use this money to build what it calls the “real-world metaverse.” As early as August, Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke has […]

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Niantic reveals its vision for a ‘real-world metaverse,’ releases Lightship AR Developer Kit

Niantic reveals its vision for a ‘real-world metaverse,’ releases Lightship AR Developer Kit

AR technology company Niantic, best known for Pokémon GO, announced today that it will launch Lightship, an AR Developer Kit (ARDK) that will make building augmented reality experiences more accessible. This free, openly available technology will help Niantic lay the foundation for its vision of the “real-world metaverse.” In the program’s launch livestream, Niantic CEO […]

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