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Niantic raises $300M at a $9B valuation to build the ‘real-world metaverse’

Niantic, the augmented reality platform that’s developing games like Pokémon GO, raised $300 million from Coatue, valuing the company at $9 billion. The San Fransisco-based startup, which initially spun out […]




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This Week in Apps: Apple defends app ad buying, Spotify gains lyrics, Instagram kills Threads

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues […]




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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Niantic’s follow-up to Pokémon GO, is shutting down

Niantic’s augmented reality game about the boy who lived is about to die. The company that brought us Pokémon GO debuted Harry Potter: Wizards Unite two years ago, following a […]




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Pokémon GO influencers threaten a boycott after Niantic removes COVID safety measures

The creators of Pokémon GO, Niantic developed one of the first mainstream augmented reality games, boasting 166 million users and over a billion dollars in revenue last year. Taking inspiration […]




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Niantic announces partnership with Nintendo on new augmented reality ‘Pikmin’ title

Nearly five years after the launch of Pokémon Go, Niantic announced Monday that they are partnering with Nintendo to co-develop a new title based on the company’s Pikmin franchise. Niantic […]




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Gowalla raises $4 million from GV and Spark for its AR social app

The newly resurrected Gowalla wants to realize its mobile dreams from the early-aughts in an augmented reality world, and they’ve raised some new funding to make it happen. The AR […]







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How Niantic evolved Pokémon GO for the year no one could go anywhere

Pokémon GO was created to encourage players to explore the world while coordinating impromptu large group gatherings — activities we’ve all been encouraged to avoid since the pandemic began. And […]