Niantic's significant shift in gaming and AI could revolutionize industries like robotics and space exploration, with billions in investment potentially reshaping the gaming industry.
Pokémon Go, the largest mobile game ever in the US, has sold off its game development business to Saudi-owned game maker Scopely in a $3.5 billion deal and rebranded as Niantic Spatial. Instead of building augmented reality games for mobile phones, the company will develop artificial intelligence models that analyze the real world for enterprise clients. Co-founder and CEO John Hanky told Forbes that it was unusual for a successful company to do this cellular division to form two companies.
Niantic is now doubling down on its Nassent spatial platform, which provides AI mapping tools for companies to chart out routes for robots or power augmented reality glasses. The company's large geospatial models (LGMs) help AI understand, navigate, and interact with physical spaces as a human would. These models can recreate 3D real-world places thanks to Niantic's massive set of location data drawn from the 30 billion miles people have collectively walked playing its games like Pokémon Go and Ingress. When the models don't have precise data on all dimensions, topography, or physical structures in a place, they use generative AI to fill in those blanks.
The market for spatial computing is expected to hit $1.7 trillion by 2033, up from $110 billion in 2023, driven by location-based services from mapping giant TomTom and traditional big tech like Google. In spatial AI, Niantic faces formidable rivals such as Nvidia's Omniverse, which creates 3D digital twins for performing simulations in factories and other industrial settings, and computer vision pioneer Fei-Fei Li, who founded World Labs, a startup building AI that generates 3D fantasy worlds for video game development or astronaut simulations.
To fund its new company, Niantic went to existing investors, including CO2 Battery Ventures and CRV, for a $250 million investment. From the start, Pokémon Go generated around $8 billion in revenue since its debut in 2016. The biggest reason for the split, Niantic executives say, is focus inside the company. The company has always had competition for time and resources between the game development side and the technology side, which developed all of the augmented reality and mapping tools that underpin the games.
About the Writer
Jenny, the tech wiz behind Jenny's Online Blog, loves diving deep into the latest technology trends, uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world, and analyzing the newest movies. When she's not glued to her screen, you might find her tinkering with gadgets or obsessing over the latest sci-fi release.What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment