Welcome to this month’s curated digest of viewpoints, news and investment activity covering the Metaverse, XR and Spatial Computing -- brought to you by FOV Ventures. We're always on the lookout for fellow investors and founders, so if you find the digest useful, please forward us along! And if you're interested in how we fit into Finland's venture ecosystem, we were featured in a great overview of the sector.

Dave Haynes & Petri Rajahalme (FOV Ventures)

In this edition:

• Startups & Fundraising

• Major Platforms & M&A

• Datapoints

Startups & Fundraising

We saw a scattering of funding across the board. On the technology side, Improbable raised $150m to launch M², a network that helps businesses create interoperable metaverses. AR lenses continue to see more investment, as waveguide maker DigiLens raised $50m in funding.

Fashion is not slowing down, as The Fabricant raised $14m to move quickly in the market. Avatar platforms see steady growth as well, as Genies raised $150m in funding.

Enterprise investments remain strong. Get ready to work in virtual spaces, as Mytaverse raised $7.6m to expand its operations, while Focus MRS raised $150m to improve its mixed-reality virtual learning platform. On the STEM side, Labster raised $47m to scale its virtual science learning platform. And speaking of medical investments, Unlearn.AI raised $50m to invest more into digital twins for clinical trials.

Ready to perform? Live Bash raised $21m, to expand their work on rentable performance spaces where artists can mint their work on the blockchain. Speaking of, The Metakey raised $3.5m to develop their token-led approach to interoperable digital assets. Along the same theme, SoundMint - a generative music NFT platform - raised $1.7m.

As side notes, Samsung is investigating the space more, invested $25m into DoubleMe. Gravity Sketch, a veteran in the industry, raised $33m to grow their business.

Finally, Yuga Labs raised $320m when they launched Otherside, their new project. The virtual world is not out yet, but the company is well-trusted by their loyal and passionate community. The Sandbox hopes to go beyond the sum, wishing to raise $400m to continue its expansion efforts.

Major Platforms & Acquisitions

Epic Games is partnering with various companies as industry giants explore how they can tap into the metaverse. One example is The LEGO Group, seeking to create a 'safe and positive space.' (Just as we hit the press, Epic Games also revealed that they are partnering with WPP to explore advertising opportunities as well). Finally, the company also invested in M-XR to expand its virtual production operations.

Otherwise, it has been a quieter month in the field. After Niantic bought 8th Wall last month, the company acquired NZXR to bolster its studio roster. VR training remains strong, as Axon - best known for developing taser guns - acquired Foundry 45 to bring the team's talent in-house. Meanwhile, Rec Room is collaborating with the NBA to bring branded content to the platform.

Datapoints

• Meta reports that 124 Meta Quest apps have earned more than $1m, while eight earned more than $20m. Road to VR estimates that over half of all spending in the store goes to these 124 apps.

• Razorfish found that 52% of Gen Z gamers feel more like themselves in the metaverse, exploring the term as something that already exists today.

That’s all for now. Have a great May, and as always, please do send us your feedback, comments, or any interesting new startups you know of in this space!

Dave Haynes & Petri Rajahalme (FOV Ventures)

http://fov.ventures