Led · Equity · Jun 2024

Wevr is a creative development and production studio focused on interactive and spatial (XR) experiences and real-time 3D content. Its core offerings include immersive and location-based experiences, spatial apps, and a Virtual Studio platform for real-time 3D production. The studio develops for headsets and screen formats such as Apple Vision Pro, HTC Vive, and Meta Quest and partners with brands to deliver experiential content. Wevr announced $3.5 million in new funding from HTC and Epic Games to expand its Virtual Studio technology and real-time production capabilities. Leadership is led by cofounders Neville Spiteri, Anthony Batt, and Marcel Samek, and the company recently added Tim Dillon as EVP Business Development. With a decade of XR work, Wevr’s past projects include Harry Potter VR, TheBlu franchise, brand experiences for Google, Samsung and Universal, and collaborations with Jon Favreau and Run The Jewels. Wevr is launching Transport, a video platform currently in private beta designed to showcase VR filmmaking. Transport will be available on the web and on major VR head-mounted displays including Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Oculus VR and PlayStation VR. The company aims to connect content creators with a large network of VR users and to be the most effective way for VR filmmakers to showcase their work. To reach as wide an audience as possible, Transport is being built as a cross-platform service across web and all major HMD platforms. Wevr has secured $25 million in investments from a group of strategic partners to support product development and distribution. The team emphasizes early experimentation in content distribution given limited data on VR content absorption patterns. WEVR is an open VR platform and community based in Los Angeles that enables developers to create and publish virtual-reality content. The company operates a grant program, OnWEVR, which awards VR producers between $5,000 and $50,000 to support projects. HTC purchased a roughly 15% stake in WEVR for nearly $10 million, providing a material capital injection. HTC framed the investment as a way to build more content for its upcoming Vive headset and to bolster the Vive ecosystem. The timing aligns with HTC’s planned consumer release of the Vive later that year (possibly November). TechCrunch contacted WEVR for more information on how it plans to use the capital from HTC.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2024

Exverse is a Dubai-based free-to-play game provider focused on bringing AAA-quality first-person-shooter experiences to the Web3 space. The studio builds its game using Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 and leverages blockchain technology to balance realistic, immersive real-time gameplay with token mechanics. Its design prioritizes skill over pay-to-win, enabling players to stake tokens before a season and earn rewards, with top performers receiving a share of profits from in-game NFTs such as cosmetics and skins. The game world is organized into three interconnected "planets"—Social, Quest, and Battle—within seasons that last eight weeks. Exverse was founded by Nikita Uriupin and is led by CEO Fei Ooi Hoong. The company intends to use the new funding to expand operations and development and plans to conduct an IDO after further development.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2023

Songtradr operates a music-licensing platform that connects songwriters and musicians with opportunities to place music in film, advertising, television, video games and apps. The company was founded by an Australian songwriter who transitioned into tech entrepreneurship. It is described in the reporting as US-based and focuses on helping musicians monetize their compositions through sync and licensing. Songtradr completed a marathon capital raising campaign that totaled more than $100 million. Its latest close was a US$70 million tranche (reported as $109 million) that was reached after an 18-month process. After the fundraising, the company is described as being worth $879 million. Songtradr is a music licensing marketplace that licenses music for advertising, films, TV, gaming and other uses for clients such as Disney, Netflix, Apple, Coca-Cola, Amazon and Google. The platform hosts songs from roughly 600,000 musicians, songwriters and rights holders. Over the past year the company has acquired multiple businesses, including MassiveMusic, Cuesongs, Song Zu, Pretzel and Tunefind. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Europe and the Asia‑Pacific region, Songtradr says it will use new funding for further M&A, new product development and to grow global headcount. The company reported 100% year‑over‑year revenue growth for 2020. Songtradr is a cleared-for-licensing B2B music rights and licensing marketplace that connects a global community of artists, songwriters and music rights owners to corporate music users. Led by CEO Paul Wiltshire and based in Los Angeles, the company operates offices across Europe and APAC. The platform’s core product is a marketplace facilitating licensing transactions between creators and buyers such as brands, advertising agencies, streaming platforms, SVOD networks, film, TV and gaming companies. Songtradr connects 500,000+ artists, songwriters and rights owners. The company raised US$30M in a Series C that valued it at US$165M. It intends to use the funds to accelerate global expansion, product development and to fund key acquisitions. Songtradr is described as the largest music licensing platform in the world and operates a fully automated, open marketplace for music licensing. The platform connects artists to film, TV, brands and other media while enabling creators to control their content and rights and monetize music including distribution to major streaming platforms. Songtradr reports a catalog of over 400,000 artists and catalogs from 190+ countries and year-over-year revenue growth of over 400 percent. The company uses proprietary technologies to simplify licensing for music supervisors, brands, filmmakers and other creatives. Leadership emphasizes product development and growth, and the company says the recent financing will fund rapid global expansion and acquisition plans. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif., and is led by founder and CEO Paul Wiltshire. Songtradr is a fully automated, worldwide music-licensing marketplace that connects music creators to tastemakers, brands, apps, TV and filmmakers. Led by founder and CEO Paul Wiltshire, the platform uses proprietary search and variable-license-pricing technology to enable easy licensing. Music creators retain control of their rights and are provided tools to monetize their music assets. The company hosts more than 140,000 artists and catalogs from 150+ countries. Songtradr raised a US$4M Series A and intends to use the funds for ongoing expansion; the round brings total capital raised to US$9M.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2022

Arcturus is a San Francisco-based company building a computer-vision and AI-powered volumetric video platform that records real sports action in three dimensions. Its technology enables broadcasters, teams, leagues, venues, and agencies to present games from perspectives that were previously impossible, delivering content to traditional 2D broadcasts, social media clips, interactive 3D mobile and console applications, and fully immersive VR/AR headsets. By bringing viewers “onto the field,” the platform seeks to deepen fan engagement and open new revenue streams for rightsholders. The company currently focuses on perfecting capture fidelity and real-time delivery of volumetric data across multiple devices. Arcturus plans to use its recent capital infusion to scale operations and accelerate product development. To date, it has raised $2.3 million in seed funding; no revenue or user metrics were disclosed.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

London-based Hadean began as a VR and video-game simulation startup and has since pivoted to defence and wider resilience technology, repurposing its large-scale multiplayer gaming engine for military wargaming, command-and-control and battlefield training. Its core platform now powers products such as domainAI for real-time live-combat decision-making and Sceptre, a ‘UK SME sovereign stack’ that links specialist suppliers for easier defence procurement. The company collaborates with major contractors, including a 2025 partnership with Palantir to supply simulation and AI tools to the UK armed forces, and is running a Cabinet Office project to model pandemic responses. Hadean is also engaged in a situational-awareness project for Ukrainian citizen soldiers and sees the U.S. defence market as its fastest-growing revenue source. Sources place the company’s valuation between $100 million and $200 million, and management is preparing for a roughly $100 million Series B later this year. Although specific revenue numbers were not disclosed, executives describe business as “booming,” buoyed by rising U.S. defence spending and recent procurement successes in the U.K.