What happened: Niantic, which was spun out from Google and has been regarded as a leader in augmented reality since the release of its popular game Pokemon Go, joined the world of metaverse in November 2021, with the help of a $300 million investment from a firm based in New York named Coatue. Details: This investment elevated the company’s value to $9 billion dollars while also allowing it to launch new ventures. Niantic developed a platform based on a 3D map of the Earth, which Coatue’s General Partner, Matt Mazzeo believes will be essential for the next computing transition, “We’re pleased to work with Niantic because we understand how this infrastructure supports a metaverse for the real world and contributes to the Internet’s next generation.” What else: The company also aims to develop technology that brings people closer to the outside world, which is why it unveiled the Lightship AR Developer Kit, making the tools for creating augmented reality games available to the public for free and can be used by anyone who understands the Unity game engine’s core.