Klang has raised $22.33 million in funding to develop a massively multiplayer online space colony simulation called Seed. The Berlin-based game studio is making a large-scale, persistent virtual world, hoping to redefine the MMO landscape.
Novator Partners, a global technology and health care investment firm, led the funding. Lego Ventures, the investment entity of the Lego brand, joined current investors in the round. Northzone, Neoteny, Firstminute Capital, Makers Fund, and New Life Ventures joined in the round. To date, the company has raised $37.42 Million for the project.
“We have been a big fan of the team and leadership of Klang from the start,” said Birgir Ragnarsson of Novator Partners in a statement. “The company is truly on the cutting edge in technology and innovation, but more importantly it understands games and gamers better than most and has no fear in its ambitions for Seed. This combination along with the artistic talent in the company gives rise to a truly exciting opportunity with unlimited potential. We are proud to take a lead role in the business and assist the team on this ambitious quest.”
Some investors like Lego know this isn’t easy to pull off. Lego once had its own MMO, but rivals such as Roblox beat it.
“Lego Ventures is excited to support Klang as they continue to push the boundaries of what MMOs can be. We believe in the team and the vision and look forward to joining them on this journey,” said Alexis Horowitz-Burdick, the head of Lego Ventures, in a statement.
Ragnarsson will become Klang’s chairman of the board. Prior to this move, Ragnarsson was chairman at CCP Games and currently sits on the board of various companies, including gaming companies Machine Zone, Zwift, and Lockwood Publishing.
“We are thrilled Novator and Lego Ventures are making this big bet on us and for getting Ragnarsson on as our chairman – he truly understands the value of single-shard MMOs and brings his amazing experience from CCP to Klang,” said Klang CEO Mundi Vondi, in a statement. “Partnering with Lego Ventures, the global phenomenon of emergent gameplay, is fantastic and aligns perfectly with our vision. Finally, we are humbled that our great current investors Neoteny, Northzone, Firstminute Capital and Makers Fund are joining the round as well and couldn’t be more excited to have the fuel to deliver Seed without compromising on its very big vision.”
Klang previous raised $8.95 million in July 2018 from Northzone, with additional support from Makers Fund, Novator, and Firstminute Capital.
Original backers of Klang include Greylock Partners, Joi Ito, David Helgason, Isaak Kato, and Adalsteinn Runar Ottarsson, as well as original investors London Venture Partners. Novator has been an early supporter of Klang since their first funding round led by London Venture Partners back in 2015.
Seed is an online life-simulator where each player manages multiple characters. Set far in the future, players work together rebuild society and create a new home in a vast world similar to the Earth. The simulation is persistent and continuous, meaning that when players go offline, their characters will continue to live their lives within the simulation. Seed uses Improbable’s SpatialOS , a cloud platform that helps simulates a world much larger and richer, and with more players, than any single engine or server could.
Klang has 44 employees.