Hampshire-based games developer nDreams has received £2m in funding from investors that include Mercia Technologies and a group of business angels. nDreams, which focuses on VR-powered gaming experiences, has raised £5.1 million from Mercia Technologies to date.
Based in Farnborough, UK, and founded in 2006 by former Eidos Creative Director, Patrick O’Luanaigh, the company was quick to establish itself as the leading publisher in PlayStation Home and as a developer of several major alternate reality games (ARG’s). In 2013, a shift in focus shifted occurred when they first received access to the Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus development kits. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Now, nDreams is the largest UK software developer to be solely focused on creating virtual reality entertainment content. They continue to hone their VR skills by creating multiple games and experiences for all the leading platforms. The company plans to use the latest funding to make its presence felt in the VR market, which according to some estimates will be valued at $30 billion in the next four years. Patrick O’Luanaigh, CEO and founder of nDreams, said in a statement,
We are delighted that Mercia is continuing to support our growth by taking part in this syndicated investment, which is the first of a two-stage round. I am proud of the team of over 40 staff that we have assembled here at nDreams and this investment allows us to continue building on the momentum we have achieved, developing VR games and experiences of the very highest quality.
Mike Hayes, Mercia’ investment director, talked about why he invested in the firm,
We are delighted to continue our support of nDreams as part of this new funding round. nDreams has made considerable progress this year, as reflected by the recent £3.0million uplift in the value of our holding. This syndicated round is further testament to nDreams’ growing status as a leading VR content developer and publisher.