In a new funding round led by the investment firm Silver Lake, Unity Technologies, which makes software at the heart of Pokémon Go and other video games, has agreed to receive $400m, the company said.
If the round closes, it will be a big show of support for the company as it focuses more on offerings to help develop virtual reality and augmented reality apps, two areas that Silicon Valley has been keen to dive into.
Founded in 2004, Unity sells an engine, or software that underpins games’ infrastructure. The company says its engine is used on 2.4 billion smartphones and other devices.
The company has made a big bet on virtual reality and augmented reality, saying its engine now powers 70 percent of such experiences.
The new funding round would value Unity at about $2.6bn, not including the latest investment, a person with knowledge of the deal said, requesting anonymity to discuss private talks.
About half of the prospective investment would be used to cash out employees and other existing investors while the remainder would go toward helping the company grow. Previous backers include Sequoia and DFJ Growth, which together put $268.7m into Unity two years ago.
Leading the round is Silver Lake, one of the most prominent investors in technology companies around the world, whose portfolio companies run from Dell to the chip maker Broadcom to Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts organization. The firm announced last month that it had raised $15bn for its latest fund, one of the biggest devoted to technology deals.
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