Liverpool-based vTime, a virtual reality social network, has raised £5.4m in Series A funding.
The round was led by Deepbridge Capital and MSIF, a Liverpool-based institutional loan and equity provider.
vTime claims to have amassed almost a million downloads across six different platforms since December 2015.
Martin Kenwright, vTime’s CEO, says the Series A will help the business grow across the globe. The money will also be used to bolster product development and fuel R&D for the brand’s AR proposals – which will launch later in the year.
Kenwright said: “vTime offers users the most immersive and intuitive way to engage with others in VR from wherever they are. The advent of consumer AR at scale is allowing us to use decades of expertise to develop another unique way to connect and engage with friends and family in alternate realities.
“Crucially, Deepbridge share our vision for the future – both in delivering a matchless social XR experience and our expansive plans to monetise and build upon the vTime framework with future technologies.”
Ian Warwick, managing partner at Deepbridge, went on to add: “vTime perfectly represents the innovative and disruptive technologies that we at Deepbridge provide investment for. We are incredibly pleased to be working in partnership with the vTime management team and are excited by the future opportunities for vTime’s market-leading virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.”
Deepbridge typically backs growth-focused tech and life sciences companies, utilising the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed EIS (SEIS).
Finally, Simon Thelwall-Jones, MSIF’s investment director, concluded: “We’re really pleased to have been able to play a part in this round of investment for vTime. It’s great to be able to assist and support a genuinely world-class business based in the Liverpool City region.”
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