Pokemon Go creators Niantic Labs has raised $200 million in Series B funding according to The Wall Street Journal.
Niantic Labs is famous for creating the first popular Pokemon AR game that threw the world into a frenzy. Now, the company’s objective is to create that same level of hysteria with an immersive Harry Potter game called Harry potter: Wizards Unite using AR technology.
This new funding secured by Niantic Labs will allow the company to prevent similar mistakes they faced with the launch of Pokemon Go. The company did not have ample server processing power for the mobile AR game but they can fix those mistakes with the new round of funding.
The new Series B funding was led by Spark Capital. It also includes other VC groups such as the Founders Fund, Meritech, Javelin Venture Capital, You & Mr. Jones and NetEase, Inc. Spark Capitals partner Megan Quinn will be joining Niantic’s board through the new financing deal.
But one question we ask ourselves with Niantic Labs is can they reproduce that same level of hit with a Harry Potter AR game? Does Harry Potter have the same level of appeal as Pokemon? We’ll have to wait and see as the AR game is expected to launch some time next year.
