Tyffon to Bring Location-Based VR to US After $2.17M Funding Round

Virtual reality (VR) company Tyffon is set to bring its location-based VR experiences to the United States. The company, which operates Tyffonium, a location-based VR arcade in Japan, has just closed a $2.17 million round of funding that it will use to establish its first U.S. location in Los Angeles and will expand its U.S.-based team.

The investors in the round include Sega Sammy Holdings (a Japanese company formed from the merger of Sega and Sammy), Mizuho Capital, Tokyu Recreation, and Canal Ventures. The new funding brings Tyffon’s total investment to $4 million.

“We are gratified by our new investment and look forward to expanding our innovative and impactful Tyffonium immersive experiences to audiences in the U.S.,” said Tyffon CEO Ken Fukazawa in a statement. “Our new investors include SEGA SAMMY Holdings, a world-renowned innovator in technology and entertainment.”

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In addition to opening an LA office, Tyffon plans to work closely with U.S. media and entertainment companies to
bring their brands, content, characters and intellectual property to life in a mixed-reality environment.

Tyffon has developed two different immersive experiences for its Tyffoniums (the name for its location-based VR arcades), both of which combine VR technology and multi-sensory effects in a physical environment that allows guests to roam freely and experience hyper-real immersive environments together. The first is “Corridor” – a mixed reality horror experience, and the second is “Fluctus” – a mixed reality fantasy ride on a floating ship. Tyffon is currently developing additional hyper-realistic immersive content and character-driven experiences in support of its expansion.

Tyffon isn’t the only company looking to capitalize on the location-based VR industry, which is expected to generate more than $800 million in worldwide revenue by 2022. According to a VR tracker report from Futuresource Consulting, there are an estimated 4,000 VR arcades worldwide, 75-80 percent of which are located in China.  Some of the notable players in the US include IMAX, which has five VR locations throughout the states, and The Void, which recently partnered with Disney to launch an interactive VR experience based on the popular “Star Wars” franchise.

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