Nurien Software finally announced they raised $15 million from investors in the US and China:
This is actually not the first time Tim raised a big round of venture financing from Silicon Valley investors. He played a key role in Realtime Worlds' $50 millon second round, which was announced not too long ago. The thing is, Tim and his company were initially part of Realtime Worlds, a UK/US-based game publisher, but they had spun out to found Nurien and went through a fresh round of venture funding.
People say it's nearly impossible for non-Valley companies (except for those in China and India maybe) to raise venture funding from the Valley investors. But maybe it is possible - here's the guy who did it, not once but twice.
Of course, Tim wouldn't have been able to raise $15 million without a killer product. What Nurien provides is, in essence, a 3D platform on which various activities, such as dancing, chatting, fashion shows, and gaming, can take place. Perhaps a video is worth a thousand words - Go check out their intro video, which will blow you away, and you'll immediately get what they are up to. (Cannot embed the video, so I'm instead providing the link.)
(Via Venturebeat) ...The company lets users create their own avatars and then socialize in a variety of topic areas. Its service has been in development for three years. Investors include Beijing-based Northern Light Venture Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and QiMing Venture Partners...I said "finally" because I knew about their funding from a while ago. Tim Kim, VP/co-founder of Nurien who pulled this deal after pitching to virtually all major VCs in the Valley (and many in China), is a friend of mine.
This is actually not the first time Tim raised a big round of venture financing from Silicon Valley investors. He played a key role in Realtime Worlds' $50 millon second round, which was announced not too long ago. The thing is, Tim and his company were initially part of Realtime Worlds, a UK/US-based game publisher, but they had spun out to found Nurien and went through a fresh round of venture funding.
People say it's nearly impossible for non-Valley companies (except for those in China and India maybe) to raise venture funding from the Valley investors. But maybe it is possible - here's the guy who did it, not once but twice.
Of course, Tim wouldn't have been able to raise $15 million without a killer product. What Nurien provides is, in essence, a 3D platform on which various activities, such as dancing, chatting, fashion shows, and gaming, can take place. Perhaps a video is worth a thousand words - Go check out their intro video, which will blow you away, and you'll immediately get what they are up to. (Cannot embed the video, so I'm instead providing the link.)
Virtual character created by Nurien Software
