Business

londonbased hadean 30m molten venturessawerstechcrunch | Distributed Computing Startup Hadean Secures $30 Million Funding for Metaverse Infrastructure

londonbased hadean 30m molten venturessawerstechcrunch

Hadean, a U.K.-based startup specializing in distributed spatial computing, has successfully closed a $30 million Series A funding round with backing from notable investors, including Epic Games and Tencent. Founded in 2015, Hadean originally aimed to bring supercomputer-level processing power to the masses, enabling anyone to access substantial computing capabilities. Over the years, the company has evolved, becoming a key player in the gaming industry, powering major titles like Minecraft.

londonbased hadean 30m series venturessawerstechcrunch

At its core, Hadean focuses on helping developers scale their codebase to support software that requires significant computing power, a crucial aspect in gaming, especially in massive multiplayer online games (MMOs). Hadean’s spatial simulation library seamlessly integrates with major gaming engines, allowing MMO developers to avoid player limits and maintain a smooth and immersive gaming experience even with hundreds of players participating simultaneously.

londonbased hadean series molten venturessawerstechcrunch

The company’s distributed computing platform dynamically allocates resources as needed, eliminating excessive middleware and complex orchestration, which helps keep dreaded “lag” at bay while ensuring the depth, complexity, and realism of the gaming world.

metalenz 3d 30m series neotribe venturescoldeweytechcrunch

Beyond gaming, Hadean’s technology has broader applications, including resource-intensive enterprise applications, web3, blockchain, and the metaverse. Recently, the company secured a contract with the British Army to develop a simulated training environment for land warfare.

hadean 30m series venturessawerstechcrunch

The $30 million funding round attracted a notable roster of investors eager to enter the metaverse space during its nascent stages. The known backers include Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit) as the lead investor, Tencent, 2050 Capital, Alumni Ventures, Aster Capital, Entrepreneur First, InQtel, and Epic Games. Epic Games, a Hadean customer, had previously supported the company with a MegaGrant, which funds projects related to its Unreal Engine.

londonbased hadean 30m venturessawerstechcrunch

According to Hadean CEO Craig Beddis, Epic Games joined the Series A round late and invested through a convertible note. This short-term debt will later convert into equity. Epic Games’ interest in Hadean aligns with its recent funding efforts of $2 billion to develop a kid-friendly metaverse.

londonbased hadean molten venturessawerstechcrunch

Tencent’s involvement is significant given current geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. Hadean opted for a smaller investment from Tencent to remain compliant with CFIUS regulations and avoid national security reviews.

londonbased hadean series venturessawerstechcrunch

With the new funding, in addition to previously raised seed rounds totaling around $16.5 million, Hadean is well-positioned to strengthen its presence in the gaming, government, and enterprise sectors, supporting various web3 and metaverse applications.

hadean series molten venturessawerstechcrunch

Hadean’s CEO, Craig Beddis, emphasized the company’s mission to bridge the gap between physical and virtual worlds and enhance the quality of life in the physical realm. Hadean envisions a future where creators can effortlessly build their own experiences at scale, leveraging open and robust metaverse-as-a-service technologies to achieve mass adoption of the metaverse concept.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button