PortalOne
Fjordalléen 16, Oslo, 0250, Norway
Overview
PortalOne is a pioneering startup in the videogames industry, taking the best parts of games and the best parts of TV and merging them together to create an immersive entertainment experience unlike anything that's been seen before. PortalOne's business model is centered around the concept of 'hybrid games', a novel category that combines elements of traditional gaming with interactive TV shows. Currently accessible only via mobile devices, the company hosts daily 24-hour tournaments every day where players can compete in a variety of games across different genres, including Atari games, for which the company has the exclusive global distribution rights for many of its titles like 'Pong', 'Breakout' and 'Centipede'. These games are not just standalone experiences, but are integrated with TV shows broadcasted within the games themselves. Players play throughout the day with the goal of climbing the Leaderboards for each game, with the opportunity to win real prizes such as cash and holidays. PortalOne's first show format, the 'Arcade Show' -- the TV component of hybrid games -- is hosted every single day in the PortalOne app. The show sees special guests come into the PortalOne universe and become immersed inside the game worlds as real characters. They play a round of a PortalOne game, and then players play against them on their mobile device at home. Previous guests on the Arcade Show include Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, and Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. The company has been operational since 2018 and has been steadfast in its mission to merge the best aspects of the gaming and TV industries. PortalOne's vision is to be the ultimate destination for hybrid games, in the same way that Spotify is for music and podcasts, and Netflix is for TV and film. PortalOne will host hundreds of games across all genres on its platform, with multiple show formats in its universe. The company also intends to become cross-platform. Currently operating in the US & Canada and Norway, PortalOne aims to be available worldwide with studios around the world producing localized TV shows for different geographies.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 6
Sector focus
- Content
- Digital Entertainment
- Gaming
- TV
- Video Games
Investment portfolio
- PortalOne
Participated · Seed · Apr 2021
PortalOne is developing an immersive, hybrid gaming platform that blends games with game-show/talk-show formats and is designed to work across mobile, consoles and VR headsets. The company emphasizes a cloud-based, modular production approach that it says reduces costs and enables reuse of components across titles. PortalOne has been running PortalOne Arcade in closed beta since last year and has produced roughly 200 shows in that beta. It plans a commercial launch of PortalOne Arcade later this year and is building studio capacity (notably in Los Angeles) with plans to expand to other cities. The startup is based in Oslo and has a significant presence in Los Angeles. The new funding will be used to continue building the platform and scale its operations en route to the Arcade launch. PortalOne builds an app that blends on-demand multiplayer games with live, playable talk-show-style broadcasts where users can play against special guests. Its technology stack combines VR, computer vision, bespoke gaming technology and software/hardware for low-resource capture and streaming; ARRI built a custom 3D camera for the product. Users can join via VR headsets or phones, play titles such as a reimagined Centipede and Blockbuster, earn prizes, and purchase virtual goods. The company has spent three years building a full stack and a content strategy, running a closed beta (launched June 2020) in the U.S. and Norway. PortalOne plans to launch PortalOne Arcade — an 80s-themed collection of multiplayer experiences and interactive talk shows — more widely in the U.S. and Norway later this year and then expand to other markets. It positions itself as part tech startup and part media company, producing daily shows in a compact studio setup to reduce costs versus traditional volumetric capture. Financially, PortalOne recently raised a $15 million seed round to fund its product rollout and content production plans.