Ubiquity6, the AR startup that came out of stealth earlier this year, announced the successful completion of a $27 million Series B finance round. The latest round was co-led by Benchmark and Index Ventures, with Benchmark taking a seat on the company’s board.
With its Series B, the company’s total funding comes to $37.5 million, $10.5 million of which was obtained in the company’s Series A back in March.
The company also announced the rollout of its first public beta experience at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Taking place on August 9th, the one-day event let SFMOMA attendees enter the world of René Magritte’s patented surrealism, recalling the most recognizable of his works, the Son of Man (aka, the guy with the green apple and bowler hat), while collaboratively building a virtual world. The company says up to one hundred museum-goers participated, although it’s unclear if that was over the course of the day or simultaneously.
The video below demonstrates that a large number of users are interacting at the same time however, something both ARKit (Android) and ARCore (iOS) can’t accomplish natively.
“Augmented reality could be one of the greatest inventions of our time, but there is no clear path to mass adoption. We believe that leveraging the millions of smartphones already in consumers’ hands to create a meaningful shared experience is how we will unlock AR’s full potential,” said Anjney Midha, CEO and co-founder of Ubiquity6. “We previewed this technology by bringing over a hundred people together to play test the experience at the SFMOMA; eventually we will open up our tools for anyone to easily create and experience AR with those around them – from their two closest friends to hundreds of people.”
Benchmark General Partner Mitch Lasky will be taking a seat on the Ubiquity6 board. Lasky has previously served as an executive at Disney, Activision, and Electronic Arts.
Ubiquity6 will be hosting a public beta soon, so interested parties can sign up here.
