City visualisation firm receives investment boost
An Auckland-based 3D visualisation company specialising in city modelling has secured funding from the ICE Angels, an investor network aligned with the Icehouse business incubator.
The 12-person company, Nextspace, will use the capital to further develop and export its interactive Visual City platform, an advanced 3D city visualisation tool.
The exact amount of funding has not been disclosed, although Icehouse director of start-ups, Ken Erskine, says it is one of the bigger funding rounds the group has made this year.
On the ICE Angels page on the Icehouse website the network’s ‘typical deal’ is shown as having capital needs of between $100,000 and $1.25 million.
"Our investors were attracted to the technology’s export potential,” Erskine says, "which has already generated significant interest from a wide range of sectors overseas.
"We also see the potential for other businesses to build content-rich applications on top of the Visual City platform, thereby creating further export and employment opportunities.”
Nextspace’s visualisation technology is already being used by Auckland Council, Melbourne’s South East Water Limited, and kiwi geologists working to advance their understanding of earthquakes and volcanoes.
The company was established with government support in 2007, but is now self-sustaining. Its Visual City platform incorporates technology developed by another kiwi start up, Right Hemisphere, which was acquired by SAP in September.
