Niantic joined the Unicorn Club after raising multiple funding rounds, including a $300M Series D in 2021, bringing its total funding to $773M. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, Niantic creates augmented reality (AR) games and platforms that connect digital experiences to physical places, enabling location-based gaming, live events, and developer tools for AR creators worldwide.
Keep reading to learn how Niantic became a $9B leader in real-world AR gaming experiences.
What Is Niantic and What Does It Do?
Founded in 2011 by John Hanke and Phil Keslin, Niantic is a San Francisco-based AR technology company that develops location-based AR games and a platform for creators. The company employs 558 people and leverages mapping, multiplayer systems, and AR toolkits to enable real-world digital experiences.
Niantic combines proprietary mapping datasets, live operations expertise, and AR platform tools to support consumer gaming, live events, and third-party AR developer integrations. The platform is designed to scale social AR experiences across cities and globally.
How Much Funding Has Niantic Raised?
1. Series D
- Amount Raised: $300M
- Date: Nov 22, 2021
- Lead Investors: Coatue
- Purpose: Scale platform, invest in AR R&D, and mapping
2. Series C
- Amount Raised: $245M
- Date: Jan 16, 2019
- Lead Investors: IVP, AXiomatic, Battery, CRV, Pokémon, Spark, Google, Founders Fund
- Purpose: Global expansion, platform tools for creators
3. Series B
- Amount Raised: $200M
- Date: Nov 25, 2017
- Lead Investors: Spark Capital, Founders Fund, Meritech, Javelin
- Purpose: Grow game portfolio and live operations
Total Funding Raised: $773M
Latest Funding Date: Nov 2021
Latest Known Valuation: $9B
Key Investors
- Google
- Details: Strategic investor providing cloud and mapping synergies
- Focus Areas: Cloud, mapping, AR, consumer platforms
- Notable Investments: Android ecosystem investments and internal projects
- Spark Capital
- Details: Early VC with a strong consumer and gaming track record
- Focus Areas: Consumer internet, games, media
- Notable Investments: Twitch, Slack, Discord, Niantic, Cruise
- IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)
- Details: Growth-stage investor backing consumer and enterprise leaders
- Focus Areas: Media, gaming, SaaS
- Notable Investments: Twitter, Snap, Roblox, Dropbox, Niantic
- Founders Fund
- Details: Deep-tech VC backing ambitious, frontier companies
- Focus Areas: AI, space, defense, gaming
- Notable Investments: SpaceX, Palantir, Airbnb, Niantic, and Anduril
- Coatue Management
- Details: Technology-focused growth investor with large private market allocations
- Focus Areas: Consumer internet, gaming, cloud
- Notable Investments: ByteDance, Spotify, Snap, DoorDash, Niantic
Where Is Niantic’s Headquarters?
Niantic is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, near major mobile gaming and AR development communities.
What’s Next for Niantic?
Niantic plans to invest in AR creator tools, expand mapping datasets, launch new real-world games and partnerships, and build developer platforms to scale third-party AR experiences.
Get Investor and Funding Insights with TexAu
TexAu helps sales and business teams uncover detailed fundraising information on companies like Niantic. Explore investor profiles, track funding rounds, and gather actionable insights to strengthen prospecting and strategy.
Sign up for Free to access real-time investor and funding intelligence.
