Improbable, the UK鈥檚 poster child for virtual worlds technology for more than a decade, narrowed losses by 拢131 million to just 拢19m last year.
The London company saw revenue growth of 2.6x to 拢78m in 2022 after adopting a more targeted operating model amid the hype of the metaverse.
Having made a loss of 拢129m in 2020 then 拢152m in 2021, it had hoped to achieve profitability in 2022 but just fell short.
The buzz surrounding the metaverse has since died down, but Improbable is confident that it is now building a solid business. After raising 拢115m from world-leading investors to establish virtual ecosystem M虏 last year – a space allowing companies, brands and creators to establish their own interoperable metaverses and Web3 businesses – its technology roadmap focuses on enabling events, supported by content creation tool sets.
It says it has run 22 events over the past six months and has a goal to deliver close to 300 such events next year.
鈥淭he Improbable business has matured significantly in the past two years and these numbers are testament to that,鈥� said CFO Dan Odell. 鈥淭he focus is now on industrialising what we are doing by being involved in more events with more people where there is scope to drive and monetize engagement levels.鈥�
Improbable, 12th on our MediaTech 50 ranking this year, also provides multiplayer services to dozens of global publishers. In June this year it disposed of its defence and national security business to deepen its focus on the metaverse.
MediaTech 50 – UK’s most innovative media tech creators for 2023
It says a new product will be announced shortly, including advances in rendering that allow for the coupling of Improbable mass-scale technology with generative AI.
The business finished 2022 with cash of 拢140m.
鈥淚mprobable emerged from 2022 a much stronger, leaner and more resilient entity. We should all be excited for the future as we have a fantastic foundation to build upon and deliver content at scale,鈥� said COO Peter Lipka.聽
鈥淥ur venture-building activity will see us initiate, grow and eventually spin-off a whole new set of businesses exploring the metaverse.鈥�
Ventures and partnerships include work done for large brands such as the recent agreement with Major League Baseball but also more experimental projects such as the Victory League, a football fan engagement project.聽
Finally, there are initiatives Improbable seeks to launch or engage in as thought leaders in this space, such as its role as the founding group behind the launch of The Metaverse Society.
鈥淭oday showcases how far we have come and validates our metaverse focus, yet there is still so much to go after for this business,鈥� said CEO Herman Narula (pictured) after delivering a showcase. 鈥淥pportunities abound in sports, entertainment and music.聽
鈥淥ur proprietary technology is able to take fan engagement and experiences to a new level and we gather ever more users excited by new experiences happening in the metaverse.聽
鈥淭oday demonstrates we have a fabulous set of products overseen by a passionate and dedicated team, delivering robust financial numbers.鈥�