Virtual worlds company Improbable has disposed of its defence business to a group of investors led by NOIA Capital.
The London company, 12th on our MediaTech 50 ranking this year, agreed terms for spinning out its defence and national security business to deepen its focus on the metaverse.
The transaction includes the transfer of around 70 engineers and modellers, contracts including with the UK鈥檚 Ministry of Defence (MOD) and other business interests, all powered by Skyral – a development platform enabling the rapid delivery of complex synthetic environments.
The transaction is pending the UK government customary approvals processes and is expected to conclude in the coming three to six months. The terms are undisclosed.
鈥淲e are very pleased to spin out our defence business, which we initiated in 2018 and grew to the point of Skyral being a proven capability,鈥� said Peter Lipka, COO of Improbable.
鈥淲e are very confident that with the support of NOIA, the business is on a great path moving forward to being one of the first new prime contractors in decades in the UK market. Improbable continues to transform to deepen its focus on the metaverse.鈥�
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NOIA Capital is a Luxembourg-based multi-family office focusing on growth capital opportunities. Its team is spread around Luxembourg, Brussels, London, Geneva and Dubai.
Muhammed Yesilhark, CIO of NOIA Capital, added: 鈥淥ur world grows more complex every day and will require data-driven decision making tools to better navigate through this complexity.聽
鈥淚n parallel, digital twin synthetic environments emerge as yet another milestone for digital transformation.聽
鈥淭his talented team has developed a technology uniquely positioned at the intersection of those two interconnected trends, both for defence and enterprise applications.鈥�
Joe Robinson, CEO of Improbable Defence, declared: 鈥淚mprobable Defence is delighted to become a part of NOIA and Kingsway portfolios.聽
鈥淏oth of these firms and their co-investors bring a unique set of skills, experience and connections to help accelerate the next stage of our growth.聽
鈥淲hilst we continue to support the vital mission of national security, we look forward to working together to expand the business into new verticals and new geographies.鈥�