It was first reported three weeks ago that Samsung could invest in Pokemon Go maker Niantic. Galaxy-exclusive games are the reason why Samsung reportedly wants to invest in the company. While neither company has officially confirmed the deal as yet, a new report claims that Samsung is indeed participating in Niantic's latest $200 million funding round.
It's already a unicorn (billion dollar company) in the augmented reality field. This latest funding round will take Niantic to a $3.9 billion valuation. Samsung's contribution in the $200 million funding round is as yet unclear.
Pokemon Go maker Niantic is reportedly raising $200 million
The Wall Street Journal reports that Niantic is in the process of closing a new round of funding. The $200 million capital injection will reportedly be led by venture capital firm IVLP with participating from strategic investors which include Samsung and aXiomatic Gaming.
The report mentions that these investors are bullish on the continued success of Pokemon Go. They are also confident of the upcoming location-based augmented reality games such as Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. It's also said that Niantic is now planning to develop games under a revenue-sharing model for other app publishers.
This ties in with earlier reports that Niantic could get a $40 million investment from Samsung for Galaxy-exclusive games. An earlier report mentioned an exclusive Harry Potter game which would use the Galaxy Note 9's S Pen as a magic wand. It may just be a version of that upcoming Harry Potter game with additional features and optimizations for Samsung devices.
Samsung has recently been focusing on gaming to differentiate its smartphones. It teamed up with Epic Games for the launch of its popular battle royale title Fortnite on Android with the Galaxy Note 9. It may even be working on a gaming smartphone if recent rumors are believed.
Neither Samsung nor Niantic have officially confirmed this. The extent of the former's participation in the funding round is as yet unknown.
