Virtual venues platform secures £2m seed funding to "enable human connection in the remote era"

A tech firm aiming to enable human connection in the remote era has secured multi-million pound seed funding to accelerate its global expansion.

Virtual venues platform Cosmos Video has raised £2m in a funding round led by European investor LocalGlobe.

The round also saw participation from Entrepreneur First, Andy Chung and Phillip Moehring of AngelList and former Citymapper president Omid Ashtari.

Cosmos aims to create virtual venues by combining game mechanics with video chat, allowing users to choose their personalised avatar, interact in browser-based games and collaborate on projects.

Cosmos Video co-founder Rahul Goyal explained: “Once the pandemic hit, we both saw productivity surge in our respective teams but at the same time, people were missing the in-office culture.

“Video conferencing platforms provide a great service when it comes to meetings, but they lack the spontaneity and fun that form the basis of our relationships.

“Cosmos is a way to bring back that human connection that we’re lacking when we spend all day online, by providing a virtual world where you can play a game of Pictionary after work with colleagues or gather round a table to celebrate a friend’s birthday.”

George Henry, partner at LocalGlobe, added: “We were really impressed with the vision and potential of Cosmos. Scaling live experiences online is one of the big internet frontiers where there are still so many opportunities.

“Now that the video infrastructure is in place, we believe products like Cosmos will enable new forms of live online experiences.

“Whether it’s virtual socialising or networking events, Cosmos will be central to providing borderless contact and connection between different communities and workplaces in years to come.”