John Hanke’s Post

Today marks the closing of one chapter and the opening of a new one for Niantic. We just announced that Scopely will be acquiring our games business, including Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. And we’re spinning out a new geospatial AI company, Niantic Spatial Inc. We founded Niantic 10 years ago to inspire people to explore the world, together, by overlaying it with digital experiences. I’m grateful to everyone who joined us on this journey, and I’m proud that players have explored 30+ billion miles and made over a billion friend connections in our games. Every week we hear inspiring stories of people finding lifelong partners, making exercise more fun, or discovering a new sense of belonging. I’m confident our games will thrive with Scopely. I've often talked about building “forever games,” and I believe they will continue to be just that. To our players: thank you. I’m also incredibly excited about what’s next with Niantic Spatial. Why? Because we’re in the midst of seismic changes in technology, with AI evolving rapidly. Existing maps were built for people to read and navigate but now there is a need for a new kind of map that makes the world intelligible for machines, for everything from smart glasses to humanoid robots, so they can understand and navigate the physical world. Today's LLMs represent the first step towards a future where a variety of expert models collaborate to reason and understand complex problems, and many of those problems will require deep and accurate knowledge of the physical world. Niantic is building the models that will help AI move beyond the screen and into the real world. With $250M in funding, some of the world's best geospatial AI talent, access to proprietary data, a strong customer pipeline, and a rapid product cycle, I believe Niantic Spatial is poised to succeed and, like the games that gave birth to it, to make its own positive impact on the world. Stay tuned for more info. jh

  • No alternative text description for this image
David Kornmann

Making The World A Better Place

5d

Congratulations, John!... And thank you for the incredible opportunity to work with you and team on this amazing adventure. It's been an incredible journey, filled with fond memories! Super excited to see what's coming next!... Keep amazing all of us!...

Avinash Maddi

Senior Game Designer 2 @ Mayhem Studios | Ex Zynga, Popreach, Rockyou | 10+ years crafting playful free-to-play games.

5d

Congrats John 🎉!

Like
Reply
Daisuke Osada

Accessibility(a11y)/EPUB Publishing/Front-End/Internationalization(i18n)/User Experience/

5d

we agents send to huge thanks🙏

Like
Reply

So many steps, so many curveballs, so many new friends from GoFests. PGO makes my personal HOF.

Jorge Tapias

Partnerships, BD, Go-To-Market Leader I Ex-Google and LinkedIn

5d

Congrats John Hanke and team. Excited to see Niantic Spatial

Like
Reply
Tom Turvey

Vice President @ Anthropic | Strategic Partnerships, xGoogle

5d

Congrats John!

Mark A. Constantino Jr.

vCIO Advisory Services Team @ Thrive Networks Inc. [Entrepreneurship/IT/Cybersecurity Leadership Exp]

3d

🥳 Congrats John Hanke, to you and the entire team, including my best friend Jonathan Haught at Niantic. Woohoo! Exciting times ahead for you all. What a great accomplishment, an epic level acquisition at the peak/pinnacle of your firm's journey and success story. Hope to be able to meet you someday. Cheers and best wishes to all future successes for Niantic Spatial. Can't wait to see what's to come. -Mark Constantino, Virtual CIO at Thrive Networks Inc- Thrive #congratulations #niantic #nextchapter

Like
Reply
Keval Desai

Investing in founders reimagining global habits with new tech infrastructure. 30+yrs. in Silicon Valley as Engineer -> Product Mgr. -> Entrepreneur -> VC.

5d

Congrats John Hanke + Team!

Rafi Mamalian

Transformative Media Executive | AI & Digital Innovation Leader

5d

Congrats John!

Nadia Amro

Dedicated chemical engineer with experience in project management and business development working to contribute to advancements in technology and sustainable solutions.

3d

It will always have been my honor to have watched Niantic grow. To have been at the advent of history is a rare thing. So many friends have met their spouses and life-long friends through Ingress and Pokémon Go, and I have had the pleasure of knowing and loving some of the closest people in my life because of a "game". No matter what happens now, you have left an indelible mark on the world that no one can ever take away. John Hanke , thank you for everything. You know my story, and I am still standing thanks to the support of a community that was like no other. ❤️ #MoreThanAGame

See more comments

To view or add a comment, sign in

Explore topics