An Improbable new unicorn

Improbable, a virtual reality startup with applications ranging from gaming to defence, has raised its largest-ever amount of £388m. The firm is now backed by Japanese investor SoftBank, which has a majority stake in software company ARM.

The deal takes Improbable’s total amount raised through equity finance to £421m. In June 2016 the company also secured an Innovate UK grant of £876,960 (60% of its project costs), for developing fleet operations solutions aimed at fleets of autonomous vehicles.

Whilst Improbable has not yet submitted filings for this deal, it is being widely reported that it puts the company at more than $1bn (£776.6m):

As shown, this is a dramatic increase on previous valuations. How does it compare to those of similar companies in the sector?

Looking at all UK software startups that have raised over £100m in equity investment, the average pre-money valuation is £140m. This puts Improbable as a clear outlier – as one might expect, given the rarity of unicorns. Improbable now joins Oxford Nanopore, Funding Circle, and a select few others in the UK’s own herd.

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