Improbable raise $502 million in funding from fund led by SoftBank

Japan’s SoftBank has led an Series B investement round which has seen SpatialOS developer, Improbable, get $502 million in funds.

The investment sees members of SoftBank take non-controlling board positions, whilst the funds will be used to further develop Improbable’s technology and increacre recruitment.

Improbable uses cloud-based computing as part of their SpatialOS to create virtual worlds for gaming and large-scale simuations. SpatialOS is still currently in beta, although this is a live beta.

"The global games market is already huge, and we believe that far more growth is possible," said Improbable CEO, Herman Narula. "The kinds of games enabled by SpatialOS – multiplayer games allowing players to form meaningful relationships with games worlds and with each other – will be category-defining, and attract new audiences.

"This investment reflects the potential size and importance of the market for this next generation of games and, ultimately, how massive-scale virtual worlds could become fundamental to how society works."

SoftBank have invested in many technology areas, including buying a controlling stake in mobile technology developer ARM in Spetember last year for $24billion.

"Improbable is building breakthrough technologies that are becoming vital and valuable platforms for the global gaming industry," said managing director of SoftBank, Deep Nishar. "Beyond gaming, this new form of simulation on a massive scale has the potential to help us make better decisions about the world we live in. Improbable’s technology will help us explore disease, improve cities, understand economies and solve complex problems on a previously unimaginable scale."