Penrose Studios, the creator of award-winning virtual reality entertainment, closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by TransLink Capital. New investor partners of the studio include entrepreneur and SalesForce founder/CEO Marc Benioff, Grammy-award winning artist and VR creator will.i.am, Korea Telecom, and Co-Made. Returning investors include Sway Ventures, 8VC, and Suffolk Equity.
Since the company’s historic seed funding announcement in 2016, Penrose Studios launched a new series, Arden’s Wake, which includes two installments, The Prologue and Tide’s Fall. Arden’s Wake: The Prologue premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2017 and received the top Lion award from Venice Film Festival for Best VR. The piece also won the Special Jury Prize: Best Storytelling in Virtual Reality at the Raindance Film Festival in London.
The second piece of the series, Arden’s Wake: Tide’s Fall, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in April and features Academy Award-winning actress Alicia Vikander and world-renowned British actor Richard Armitage. In addition to bringing Hollywood closer to VR, the studio team also actively participates in technology, film innovation, and VR industry events around the world.