Lenovo and iDreamSky Lead $2M Strategic Investment in Proxy42 AR Gaming

Proxy42 and Father.io Augmented Reality Laser Tag for Smartphones Receives a Boost in Capital As It Nears Launch

SAN FRANCISCO – March 9, 2017 – Interactive augmented reality company Proxy42 today announced that it has raised a $2 million strategic investment round from Lenovo Capital and leading Chinese game publisher iDreamSky. The funding will support the development of Proxy42’s augmented reality laser tag experience, which includes the Inceptor, a keychain-size device that attaches to and augments an iOS or Android smartphone via Bluetooth with infrared projection and sensing technology. It is used together with the mobile game Father.io, a massively multiplayer, first-person, augmented-reality action game developed in-house and included with purchase of the Inceptor hardware. The investment will be used to accelerate manufacturing capabilities, software development, and business development as it approaches shipment to Indiegogo backers in 2017.

“This investment legitimizes our approach and the growing market demand for augmented reality experiences” said Francesco Ferrazzino, CEO and Founder, Proxy42, and inventor of Father.io. “We’ve created something special with Father.io and the Inceptor technology that activated thousands of consumers to back our Indiegogo campaign. Our vision of creating a more playful world is really taking hold through our AR laser tag game, and we look forward to making it a reality in the coming months with our new investors on board.”

Father.io was introduced to the world through Indiegogo in 2016. The crowdfunding campaign successfully raised more than $432,629 and sold 15,000 Inceptor units from more than 6,700 backers, proving the concept and enabling complete development of the prototype technology and design. Additionally, the company recently signed a deal with product developer and specialty retailer Brookstone, who’ll manufacture the Inceptor hardware and serve as the exclusive North American retailer and distributor for the product.

“We’re actively looking to expand our business and invest in innovations in AR and VR that enable deeper, more immersive experiences in games and entertainment,” said Jeff Lyndon, President and Co-Founder of iDreamSky. “Proxy42 is at the forefront of elevating games to this new level by augmenting smartphones with Inceptor technology, and will surely fuel the development of a whole new slate of AR games for mobile.”

“We have a growing interest in the rising AR category, and Proxy42’s talent and impressive development of the platform drew us to the company,” said Dennis Song, the Vice President , of Lenovo. “Their Inceptor hardware has the potential to create an ecosystem of AR experiences using the power of the smartphone that we all already own, making AR more accessible to consumers worldwide.”

About the Father.IO Game and Smartphone Inceptor

  • The Inceptor is the world’s first micro-platform for action mobile gaming, and
    easily attaches to the back of most iOS and Android smartphones.
  • Father.IO is a multiplayer first-person action game set in Earth’s near future, where humans and an artificial intelligence have become engaged in a global war to decide the fate of humanity.
  • The game combines geo-localized real-time strategy with first-person shooter mechanics, enabling team-based online-style action gaming in real-world locations.
  • Father.IO has 480,000 closed beta gamers so far, with an additional 330,000 gamers on the waitlist.


The Inceptor will be available to the public later this year at Brookstone stores and online. Father.IO will be available for free on Google Play and the App Store.

Images and logos can be found in the press kit here.

For more information and to keep in touch:

 

About Proxy42
Founded in 2012, Proxy42 Inc. is an augmented reality gaming and hardware company focused on transforming reality by incorporating real people, places and things into a global game experience. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and powered by an eclectic staff of developers, hackers, designers and other top gaming talent. For more information on Proxy42 visit: http://father.io/

 

About iDreamSky

Founded in 2009, iDreamSky Technology Limited is China’s largest mobile games publisher in terms of user base, occupying nearly one-third of the nation’s mobile games market. iDreamSky has long been recognized as the market leader in bringing Western mobile games to China, and has successfully launched several globally renowned games in the greater-China area in the past six years, including Temple Run, Subway Surfers, and Monument Valley. iDreamSky’s goal is to connect people and entertainment with technology; thus in addition to mobile games, iDreamSky’s businesses include advertisement, offline theme stores and intellectual property incubation. The company is also currently exploring and investing in new technological frontiers from augmented reality to virtual reality to artificial intelligence for games. For more information, please visit www.idreamsky.com [http://www.idreamsky.com/en].

 

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $45 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode Yoga brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Moto brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at www.lenovo.com.

About Lenovo Capital

Lenovo Capital was officially launched on May 4th, 2016, in Beijing, China. Lenovo Capital aims to integrate Lenovo global resources, build up Lenovo’s internet services and intelligence ecosystem through investment, and bridge innovations within and outside of Lenovo. Lenovo Capital will focus on investing in core-technology and internet related areas globally including cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, ARVR, internet + vertical industry and consumption upgrade. For more information, please visit http://capital.lenovo.com/default.html

 

Press Contacts

TriplePoint for Proxy42

proxy42@triplepointpr.com

+1-415-955-8500

 

Lenovo

maxs4@lenovo.com

 

iDreamSky

pr_en@idreamsky.com