IP Group and its Venture Fund II have pumped more cash into Bristol's haptics technology developer Ultrahaptics to take the spinout’s total to $84.3m.
Ultrahaptics, a UK-based mid-air haptics technology developer spun out of University of Bristol, closed a £35m ($44.8m) round today backed by commercialisation firm IP Group and its Venture Fund II.
Private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners led the round, which also included Australian superannuation fund Hostplus, electronic products importer Cornes Technology, Woodford Investment and family office Dolby Family Ventures.
IP Group’s stake in Ultrahaptics amounted to 21.1% following the transaction, while IP Venture Fund II’s holding stood at 8%. In all, IP Group and its Venture Fund have invested $8.2m and $2.3m in Ultrahaptics respectively.
Founded in 2013, Ultrahaptics specialises in a form of haptics interface that uses ultrasound to simulate the sense of touch in mid-air, enabling the user to “feel” virtual objects projected through mediums such as virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR).
The company’s technology could be used for applications such as virtual in-car driving controls, smart home panels, interactive media and medical interfaces.
Ultrahaptics has partnered industrial technology and appliance producer Robert Bosch and connected technologies developer Harman to develop haptics concepts for the automotive segment. The spinout also works alongside a host of academic institutions, which include the universities of Tokyo, Sussex and Glasgow, to drive further haptics research.
IP Group previously backed Ultrahaptics’ $23m series B round in May 2017, where it was joined by Cornes, Woodford Investment and Dolby Family Ventures.
The firm also featured in a $15.6m Woodford-led series A for Ultrahaptics in 2015, after co-leading the spinout’s $940,000 seed round the previous year with one of its managed funds.
