EQT Ventures leads the round to expand the social entertainment network focused on 3D interactive user-generated content (UGC) and self-expression
June 30, 2021 – Hiber announced that it has taken $15M in Series A funding, led by EQT Ventures. This brings Hiber’s total funding taken to date to almost $20M, giving the company the capital it needs to further accelerate the growth of its social entertainment network, Hiber. New investor CMT Digital also participated in the round, along with existing investors Luminar Ventures, Bumble Ventures, Konvoy Ventures, and SYBO.
Co-founded in 2017 by CEO Michael Yngfors and Chief Innovation Officer, Mattias Johansson, the team originally created HiberWorld (the browser-based version of the Hiber platform) as a place for people to create their own 3D interactive experiences and share them with others, without the need to code. In late 2019, the company reached a major milestone when it released touch creation mode, giving users the ability to make and share their creations using mobile devices with touch screens.
Since then, more than one million experiences have been created, including virtual worlds, 3D hangouts, games, playgrounds, speed-run challenges, interactive science museums, roller coasters, pixel art showcases, and more. Hiber has been growing consistently over the past year, with more users, and higher engagement, and retention.
That, combined with more creators month over month and additional social features, has made Hiber a go-to hangout for the 13+ crowd — as anyone can easily create their own 3D interactive experience and share it with friends instantly. Today, Hiber continues to focus on removing friction between the proposition of self-expression as the newest emerging social, creative medium, and Gen Z’s passion to express themselves in new ways.
“Having EQT Ventures onboard is a huge validation that we are on the right track in growing our business and our platform,” said Michael Yngfors, CEO and Co-founder of Hiber AB. “Their knowledge of the interactive media and digital consumer entertainment spaces is phenomenal and we are already benefiting from their feedback and guidance. We are confident that with them backing us, we will reach our goal of empowering Gen Z to express themselves through creation, even faster.”
“The Hiber team and their accomplishments to date are incredibly impressive,” said Lars Jörnow, Partner at EQT Ventures. “We believe they are perfectly aligned at the focal point of UGC, social entertainment and emerging creator economies. Worldwide, people downloaded 30% more mobile games in the beginning of 2021 than the end of 2019 — spending an unprecedented $1.7 billion per week in Q1 2021. Beyond games, however, there are countless more possibilities across myriad entertainment industries. That’s why we see a huge opportunity for Hiber to become a part of daily life for Gen Z.”
About EQT Ventures
EQT Ventures is a multi-stage VC fund that partners with the most ambitious and boldest founders in Europe and the US. The fund is based in Luxembourg and has investment advisors stationed in Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, San Francisco, Berlin and Paris. Fuelled by some of Europe’s most experienced company builders and scalers, EQT Ventures helps the next generation of entrepreneurs with the capital and hands-on support needed to build global winners. For further information, please visit https://eqtventures.com
