Private UK fundraising within the VR sector recorded its strongest year to date – with over £150m (€180m) worth of capital raised this year, a 72% increase on 2020.
Analysis by Arden Partners, the institutional stockbroking company, reveals that £154m worth of capital flowed into the private VR sector compared to less than £90m in 2020 [1]. This was driven by an unprecedented surge of investment in Q4, with the £72m raised smashing the previous record of £46m in the final quarter of 2018.
In a report released in late 2021, Arden said the rise of virtual spaces, where players can create new environments to explore with other people through online avatars, has prompted technology conglomerates such as Facebook to hire thousands of employees to work on their development and focus on becoming leaders in the VR space for consumer and professional services.
The Covid-19 pandemic and repetitive lockdowns have also helped spark significant growth of VR, shattering revenues, user, and growth records. Every quarter in 2020 broke its respective revenue record.
[1] Source: Arden analysis of data from the Beauhurst platform, which tracks investment activity in privately-owned UK businesses. Analysis conducted on 4 January 2022.