NextVR, a startup that specializes in live-action virtual reality broadcast technologies and systems, has raised an $80 million Series B round that, it says, will help to fund a global expansion.
The funding will also help NextVR produce a larger assortment of live entertainment, including concerts and sporting events, it said.
All investors from NextVR’s $30.5 million “A” round joined the new round (Formation Group, Time Warner Investments, Comcast Ventures, Stephen Ross’s RSE Ventures, Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber, The Madison Square Garden Co., and dick clark productions).
A group of new investors, including several based in Asia, participated in NextVR’s B round, and supplied the majority of its funding: CITIC Guoan Information Industry Co Ltd; NetEast, CMC Holdings; SoftBank Corp.; VMS Investments Group; the Founder H Fund; China Assets (Holdings) Limited; and Spectrum 28, an early-stage fund investor based in San Francisco.
“With this new funding, we will continue to build NextVR’s virtual reality platform to meet the needs of the world’s largest fan bases around live sports and music content,” Brad Allen, NextVR executive chairman, said in a statement. “Having the support of Asia’s biggest players provides us with significant resources for creating and distributing both local and international content in China, Korea, and Japan.”
NextVR also has a five-year partnership with Fox Sports to collaborate on VR coverage of several sporting events, and recently cut a deal with Live Nation.
NextVR was launched in 2009.
