The founders of global endurance event Tough Mudder have raised almost £8m for their new venture, immersive group gaming experience Electric Gamebox.
Will Dean, founder of Tough Mudder, and David Spindler, who set up Tough Mudder Bootcamp, launched the new business which delivers "hyper-immersive" games in interactive digital rooms.
The latest round of funding from Brookfield Asset Management, Index Ventures, JamJar, and Project A Ventures will support the company’s expansion across the UK and US, and through Brookfield’s Retail Revitalisation programme.
The company is planning 100 new sites over the next two years, and more than 1,000 sites in five years.
First launched in central London in October 2019, Electric Gamebox now has UK venues in Essex and Manchester, and Dallas, Texas, in the US.
Electric Gamebox will open its first UK concession this summer in London, kickstarting a 12 venue rollout for the rest of 2021.
According to its website, the company will launch in Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow and Leeds in 2022.
Additional funds were raised from existing investors JamJar Investments, Index Ventures, Project A Ventures, Sweet Capital, and new investor Imbiba.
This latest round of funding follows a £8.5m Series A in December 2019, bringing the total raised by Electric Gamebox to over £18m.
Mr Dean said: "We are thrilled to be working with Brookfield to accelerate our expansion furthering our mission to reinvent how consumers interact with video games.
"We aim to be the Netflix of Immersive Entertainment, with 1,000+ units playing 100+ games in the next five years - working with real estate leaders like Brookfield brings us one step closer to achieving this."
JamJar investments was created by the founders of Innocent drinks and has invested in companies like food delivery service Deliveroo, energy company Bulb, personal doctor app Babylon Health, and sleep tracking app Sleepio since it was set up in 2012.
Index Ventures also has stakes in the likes of Deliveroo, Squarespace and Supercell while Project A Ventures currently supports companies including Homeday, Hello Print, Voi, and Klara.
