Hong Kong start-up Sandbox VR has received an additional US$11m in funding from notable Silicon Valley and Hollywood icons. The new investment brings the reported total to $83m in 2019.
Led by US venture capitalists David Sacks of Craft Ventures and the Andreessen Horowitz Cultural Leadership Fund, additional investors include Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and Will Smith.
"We're incredibly honoured to be able to work with some of the most talented and influential artists, athletes and actors in the world," said Steve Zhao, founder and CEO of Sandbox VR. "Their support is a vote of confidence that our platform will one day become the new medium for the future of sports, music and storytelling."
The company has been attracting interest from influencers since its inception. With the slowdown in investment in consumer VR applications, location-based virtual reality is where many are now turning their attention.
"We believe that VR is finally ready to take off as a mass market phenomenon in malls, where it can be optimised for a social experience," said David Sacks, co-founder and general partner at Craft Ventures. "We chose the Sandbox team because of their background in game design; their VR experiences have a level of interactivity - with both the VR world and other players - that we couldn't find elsewhere. We believe that Sandbox VR is poised to become the first VR experience for millions of consumers around the world."
The company is in the process of an expansive rollout across the US, with a location recently opened in Los Angeles and coming soon to New York, Austin, San Diego and Chicago, with a total of 16 total locations planned by the end of 2020. Sandbox VR is one of the leading immersive LBVR experiences with full-body motion capture technology and announced a $68m Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz earlier this year.
"The excitement for Sandbox VR from entertainment and sports icons I grew up idolising reminds me of what I felt when I first experienced what Steve and his team built in Hong Kong two years ago," said Siqi Chen, president and chief product officer at Sandbox. "We can't wait to bring this new transformative medium to neighbourhoods around the world”
Image: Steve Zhao, founder and CEO of Sandbox VR
