Sandbox VR raises $11 million from elite Silicon Valley and Hollywood investors

Sandbox VR has raised an additional $11 million in funding from notable Silicon Valley and Hollywood icons, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Katy Perry, and Justin Timberlake. The new investment brings their reported total to $83 million in 2019, including a $68 million round from earlier this year. The investment takes place amid a slowdown in VR funding, and it suggests that Sandbox has something special in its location-based VR technology. Sandbox VR aims to create the something akin to Star Trek’s Holodeck, a room that can become any virtual environment and feel like it’s real, according to founder Steve Zhao. “We’re incredibly honored to be able to work with some of the most talented and influential artists, athletes, and actors in the world,” said Zhao in a statement. “Their support is a vote of confidence that our platform will one day become the new medium for the future of sports, music, and storytelling.” Sandbox VR creates a social multiplayer VR experience through a combination of full-body motion capture and VR technologies. Siqi Chen, president and chief product officer, said in an interview with GamesBeat that Sandbox VR is an experience much like going with your friends to a movie or an escape room.