Augmented reality firm听Blippar听seems to be on the road to recovery听two years听after it entered administration.听
Blippar, founded in London in 2011,听became one of the UK鈥檚 first tech unicorns but was placed into administration in December 2018 after a major investor refused new funding.听
After it was bought out of administration by existing shareholder Candy Ventures in 2019, it appointed Faisal Galaria, considered something of a turnaround specialist, as CEO in October听of that year.听
The former听GoCompare, Spotify and Kayak executive replaced听founder and former听CEO Ambarish Mitra,听who听now serves as chief product officer.听
Fast forward 17 months and the new-look company has closed a 拢3.6 million pre-Series A round听co-led by Chroma Ventures, the investment arm of Paddy Burns鈥� and Chris van der听碍耻测濒鈥檚听gaming company 4J Studios, and West Coast Capital,听the private equity arm of Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and family.听听
Blippar’s work with Kellogg’s
Canadian entrepreneur Anthony Lacavera also contributed to the round through his听Globalive听Capital investment firm.听
The new investment听will be used to further develop the company鈥檚 industry-leading technology and accelerate its growth in key markets including the US, Europe and Asia.听
鈥淲e are very excited to have attracted investors of this calibre to听Blippar,鈥� said听Galaria.听鈥�Not only is this a solid vote of confidence in听Blippar鈥檚听technology from some of the most highly regarded industry veterans and business minds, but it also demonstrates sustained validation of the UK tech sector post-Brexit.听
鈥�2020 was a transformative year for听Blippar听with a 200% increase in revenue quarter on quarter, continued strengthening of the senior leadership team, and delivery of cutting-edge AR campaigns for major global brands including OnePlus, Kellogg鈥檚 and Dr Pepper.听听
鈥�We have leveraged our 10 years of investment, provenance, and technology leadership in the AR space to come back leaner, more focused and better than ever before.鈥�听
/pensions-disrupter-pensionbee-plots-350m-ipo/
Van der听Kuyl听and Burns are best–known for developing Minecraft for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo games consoles.听听听
This week the two entrepreneurs launched Chroma Ventures, a new investment arm for their diverse and growing portfolio of investments, to channel flexible capital into a range of early-stage and established businesses with high-growth potential.听
Van der听Kuyl, who听joins听the听Blippar听board as a听director, commented: 鈥淭he immersive nature of AR makes it one of the most important use cases for the gaming industry.听听
鈥�Blippar鈥檚听AR technology is by far the most advanced and innovative that I鈥檝e seen in years and there is huge potential for AR to power the ultimate gaming experience of the future. We look forward to being part of the听Blippar听journey.鈥�听
Tech entrepreneur Justin Cooke has also been appointed to the听Blippar听board this month. Chief Content & Partnerships Officer of听FutureLearn, Justin is also a Venture Partner at tech investor听Northzone, and an adviser and investor in numerous fast-growing technology businesses.听听
AR