Pokémon Go dev Niantic secure $30m investment

Pokemon Go developer Niantic Labs has received investment from a trio of companies.

Nintendo, The Pokemon Company and Google have between them ploughed $30m into the studio. The money will be put not only into Pokemon Go but also Niantic’s smartphone AR title Ingress, as well as in-development titles.

The involvement of Nintendo and its Pokemon Company is clear to understand. The link with Google likely comes from Niantic’s founder John Hanke, who was the co-creator of Google Earth. Niantic was an internal start-up studio at Google before it was spun-off into an independent entity in August following the Alphabet restructure.

“The Pokémon Company, Google and Nintendo are incredible investors and strategic partners to help build the next chapter for Niantic,” Hanke said.

“We will be using this capital to continue the development of Pokémon GO, to evolve and grow Ingress and its thriving global community, and to build out our real-world gaming platform.”

Pokemon Company CEO and president Tsunekazu Ishihara added: “Pokémon’s strategic investment in Niantic paves the way for a social mobile experience the world has never seen before. The Pokémon Company is committed to partnering with companies like Niantic that share the same spirit of community and innovation.”

Story originally published on MCV.