Liverpool VR firm secures £5.4m in Series A funding round

Virtual reality (VR) social network business vTime has secured a multi-million pound investment.

The Liverpool-based company raised £5.4m in a Series A funding round led by investment manager Deepbridge Capital.

vTime’s platform allows users to meet, chat, broadcast and share with people all around the world using VR technology. It has been downloaded almost one million times since December 2015.

Deepbridge participated in the fundraising via its Technology Growth Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). The round also drew backing from Liverpool-based institutional loan and equity provider MSIF.

Martin Kenwright, chief exec of vTime, believes the investment will enable the firm to accelerate its global growth and ramp up product development. It will also drive research and development for vTime’s augmented reality (AR) offering, which is due to launch later this year.

Martin said: “vTime offers users the most immersive and intuitive way to engage with others in VR from wherever they are.

“The advent of consumer AR at scale is allowing us to use decades of expertise to develop another unique way to connect and engage with friends and family in alternate realities.”

He continued: “Crucially, Deepbridge share our vision for the future – both in delivering a matchless social XR experience and our expansive plans to monetise and build upon the vTime framework with future technologies.”

Deepbridge managing partner Ian Warwick commented: “vTime perfectly represents the innovative and disruptive technologies that we at Deepbridge provide investment for.

“We are incredibly pleased to be working in partnership with the vTime management team and are excited by the future opportunities for vTime’s market-leading virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.”

MSIF investment director Simon Thelwall-Jones said of the deal: “We’re really pleased to have been able to play a part in this round of investment for vTime.

“It’s great to be able to assist and support a genuinely world-class business based in the Liverpool City region.”