Virtual reality company Spatial is the next company to stake out its metaverse territory with $25 million in new funding that it will use to build a more robust metaverse app. Spatial was founded in 2016 and up until now focused mainly on VR workrooms and collaboration spaces, but it is now establishing itself as a metaverse company.
With its new funding, Spatial will aim to become an open and free metaverse for cultural events and will enable users to host NFT exhibits, brand experiences, and meetings and conferences. According to Jacob Loewenstein, Head of Business at Spatial, the company has gone from “an AR/VR platform focused on enterprise productivity to a web/VR platform linking digital creators and the broader NFT economy.”
Spatial decided to make this shift “because the metaverse will be far beyond a meeting space,” he said in a statement. “We’re witnessing this trend in the creator economy from the inside and can see the huge opportunity as power moves into the hands of these creators. Moving web-first also breaks down all the barriers to entry to the metaverse today. We believe in an inclusive and open metaverse where one day artists and creators can move freely across multiple virtual platforms with interoperable portals, avatars and shared spaces.”
Spatial’s first NFT drop launched on December 15th, and through this evolution, it will be supporting blockchain infrastructure, including Etherium wallets. Importantly, its immersive spaces are accessible through mobile, desktop, and VR headsets — in fact, the company has seen a massive increase in mobile and desktop users within the last year as more and more people are exploring digital worlds but don’t necessarily have access to VR hardware.
“Since we shifted focus to building the metaverse for creators and artists, we’ve seen four times usage growth in just two months,” added Spatial co-founder and Chief Product Officer Jinha Lee. “This new round of funding will speed up our mission to make the internet more immersive, social and fun. It’s extremely rewarding to devote our energy to empowering creative individuals and lead this cultural paradigm shift in how people are sharing experiences with others.”