Oslo-based PortalOne, a gaming startup delivering live game experiences with visuals and interactivity, announced on Thursday that it has raised $60M (approx €53.64M) in an oversubscribed Series A round of funding from a group of A-list investors.
Prior to this, the platform raised $15M (approx €12.4M) in an oversubscribed Seed round in April 2021. And besides the funding, it also secured exclusive global distribution rights for seven years with Atari – a video game company that manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises.
Investors in this round
Tiger Global led the round, which included TQ Ventures, the investment fund led by Scooter Braun, Schuster Tanger and Andrew Marks, as well as the Singapore-based investment company Temasek.
Scooter Braun, a co-founder of TQ Ventures, says, “PortalOne is building a platform that converges the most popular forms of entertainment into one seamless experience that will appeal to every category of performer. This is the next place to be in the world of immersive gaming, with unlimited content possibilities.”
Existing investors Founders Fund, Coatue, Talis Capital, Rogue Capital Partners, and SNÖ Ventures also participated in this round along with Avenir Growth, Connect Ventures, Animoca Brands, Access Industries, Nordstar and Socii Capital.
Besides, the investment also saw a number of high-profile angel investors including Matt Cohler, the American venture capitalist known for his early executive roles at Facebook and LinkedIn; Aleksander Larsern, the COO and co-founder of Axie Infinity; Julius Genachowski, the former Chairman of the FCC; and Rishi Garg, known for his executive roles at Twitter, Google and MTV.
Funds for next phase of growth
The proceeds from this round will help PortalOne to enable rapid expansion of content production for its hybrid games platform. The company is also actively looking for partnerships with brands and IP owners for their use in the creation of new hybrid gaming formats.
Bard Anders Kasin, CEO and co-founder of PortalOne, says, “Gaming, social, and media are converging, and we are fortunate to be at the very edge of that frontier. Our company now enters an exciting new phase of scaling up on all fronts as we prepare to introduce hybrid games to the world.”
“Having great partners paved the way for us to make rapid progress in developing hybrid games. Now we look forward to welcoming new partners who recognise the opportunity PortalOne offers for iconic and popular IP brands to bridge into a whole new era of entertainment,” adds Kasin.
About PortalOne
Founded in 2018 by brothers Stig Olav Kasin and Bård Anders Kasin, PortalOne claims to be the world’s first hybrid games platform. The platform launched a new category of entertainment that mixes games with live shows that are embedded directly inside the games.
Here’s how it works:
The first format on the platform is PortalOne Arcade, a retro-inspired universe that immerses the show’s guests inside original PortalOne games, as well as contemporary and “super-sized” classic games that enable users to compete directly against these guests right from their mobile phones.
Besides, PortalOne is also building its own proprietary technology to enable third-party creators to create content on its platform. The company has already entered into a strategic partnership with ARRI, a company that deals in camera and lighting technology.
Recently, the company established its US production studio in Los Angeles and is set to grow its team in both the US and Norway. PortalOne launched its US/Canada closed beta in August 2021, and the waitlist is now open for test users at PortalOne.com. It aims for a full launch in the first half of 2022.
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