Roblox raises $520 million at $29.5 billion valuation

Back in December, Roblox told employees in a memo that it has delayed its planned initial public offering until this year. The company announced on Wednesday that it has raised $520 million in new Series H funding at a purchase price of $45.00 per share led by Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group. The Series H funding values the company at $29.5 billion.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Altimeter, Dragoneer and the other new investors,” David Baszucki, CEO and co-founder of Roblox said in a statement. “We look forward to working with all of them as we continue our mission to build a human co-experience platform that enables shared experience, from play to work, and learning among billions of users.”

The new investment will be used for Roblox to offer its users a better experience and to grow. The valuation of Roblox had reached $4 billion after securing an investment of $150 million dollars in venture funding from Andreessen Horowitz in February.

Roblox, which increased its popularity significantly with the pandemic, increased its valuation from $ 4 billion to $ 29.5 billion in less than 1 year.

Roblox has achieved great success in 2020. In October, it surpassed $2 billion in mobile player spending and ity shared in July that more than half of US kids and teens under 16 now play Roblox. Also, Apple recently announced the best App Store games and apps of 2020 and Roblox has been the third most downloaded mobile game on the iOS market in 2020. 

However, the game wasn’t available in China as the country requires a government license before a company can release a game. On December 2, China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) released a list of 42 approved imported games and Roblox has secured license to launch its game platform in China, on both mobile and PC. 

Also read: Roblox Revenue and Player Stats (2021)

In the last weeks of the year, Roblox announced that it has acquired real-time facial animation firm Loom.ai to “bring real-time and real-life emotions to every Roblox avatar”. Financial terms of the deal had not been disclosed. 

“While once viewed as a gaming platform, Roblox has emerged as a definitive global community connecting millions of people through communication, entertainment and commerce,” said Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter. “And as the world moves toward a hybrid future – where online and offline community and learning co-exist, we are proud to back a values-driven business that takes seriously its obligation to build an inclusive, creative, and positive community.”

Gaming platform Roblox announced back in October in a written statement that it has previously submitted a draft registration statement on a confidential basis to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of its common stock. In December 2020, Roblox told its employees that it has delayed the planned IPO until 2021 to “take this opportunity to work with their advisors to see how they can make such improvements.”

“Roblox has built a unique and imaginative virtual experience with a growing, loyal community, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to support the company at this stage of its development,” said Marc Stad, Founder and Managing Partner of Dragoneer Investment Group. “We look forward to partnering with the Roblox team as they continue to execute on a compelling growth strategy and capitalize on the substantial opportunities ahead.”