The Global Gaming League (GGL), a professional gaming entertainment organization featuring celebrity team owners, has successfully raised $10 million in its SAFE round, led by the private equity group Solyco Capital, according to a news release. Founded by multi-platinum music producer and entrepreneur Clinton Sparks, in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning artist T-Pain and tech visionary Jeff Hoffman, GGL is building the first entertainment system that monetizes the world’s largest and most engaged audience: the more than 3 billion people who play video games. “There are over 3 billion gamers around the world,” Sparks said. “But there’s still no centralized platform that gives everyday players the spotlight—while authentically connecting brands, celebrities, and competition in a way that’s truly entertaining. That’s where GGL comes in.” Each GGL team has four players — including high-profile influencers , actors, athletes, artists, and casual and professional gamers — competing...

Kyle Morrand had an idea while living with his roommates. Now he’s turned it into a $2 million vision. The founder leads 302 Interactive, an Orlando, FL-based development studio leveraging game design and emerging technologies to create interactive media, its LinkedIn mentions. It connects clients to resources that supports augmented reality mobile applications, game development, virtual reality and immersive experiences with the aid of its in-house team of developers, designers, and artists. “…The business is a reflection of my own life, ambitions and creativity,” Morrand explained in an interview with Entrepreneur. “…I get to spend my days reshaping our relationship with technology to design lifestyles that are more playful and ultimately eliminate some of the symptoms of depression and anxiety that seem standard to modern-day living.” He says the idea dates back to his time at college in Apartment 302 where he lived with two roommates who were also passionate about gaming. “…The...

If it is on Nick Cannon’s bucket list, he seems to always deliver. As AfroTech just told you, the television personality and entrepreneur announced his new business venture for the “billion-dollar” Wild ‘N Out franchise, a new sports bar in his hometown of San Diego, CA. “I am opening up a Wild ‘N Out Sports Bar, it would be our second one. Now we’re doing the true flagship one in my hometown of San Diego that opens this month,” Nick Cannon told AfroTech. Nick Cannon’s business is now up and running and the star celebrated the official launch of Wild ‘N Out Sports Bar and Arcade in late February. The 4,000-square-foot attraction is two stories and will become a home for comedians and DJs. In fact, guests can expect special appearances from Nick Cannon and the Wild ‘N Out crew. “It’s a beautiful opportunity to be able to open this up and to have people come out from the community and show love,” Cannon said, according to FOX 5 San Diego. “To really have the people that I came up...

Years ago, a space exploration documentary was watched by a young and curious mind. The experience proved to be life-changing and would instill purpose into Mary Spio, who would eventually become a space engineer. Her heart longed to one day walk on the moon and with the help of an Oculus headset, her dream came true. Now, Spio has become a huge contributor to the shift in innovation and technologies within the movie industry and beyond. She wants to imprint hope and purpose into the next generation of changemakers by making virtual reality accessible globally. “I always go back to this documentary that had me thinking about what if and then led to me creating industry-changing technologies today that have already impacted the lives of so many and multiple generations thereafter. I just want to make these technologies more accessible,” Spio said exclusively to AfroTech.

When it comes to sports and technology, StatusPRO not only gets it right but encourages others to see just how significant technology is to the sports industry and vice versa. As athletes, founders Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins and Troy Jones know the importance of using technology to make training more efficient for sports professionals across the nation. The company marries technology and sports by combining player data, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) to design a suite of training and gaming products. Now, they can continue to execute the vision for their company thanks to a $5.2 million seed round, according to a press release provided to AfroTech. Led by venture capital firms KB Partners and TitletownTech, the round also received additional backing from 49ers Enterprises, Greycoft, Haslam Sports Group, SC Holdings, Verizon Ventures, and a host of other celebrity investors. This is a huge milestone for both Hawkins and Jones. “The XR [AR and VR] market has seen...

Shonda Rhimes and Netflix are doubling down on their business relationship and expanding their scope beyond the TV realm. According to Variety, the two entities — who officially inked their deal back in 2017 — have agreed upon new terms under their extended partnership to exclusively produce, stream and distribute future gaming, virtual reality content, live events and merchandise, in addition to feature films. “When Ted and I decided to break the traditional network TV business model to move Shondaland to Netflix, we were both taking a leap into the unknown,” Rhimes shared in a statement. “Today, Shondaland at Netflix is creatively thriving, profitable as an asset and engaging audiences around the world with stories that fearlessly challenge viewers and keep them highly entertained all at once. Ted, Bela and the entire team at Netflix have been tremendous partners during every step of the process, supporting my creative vision and showing a continued dedication to the innovation...

Though concert halls are closed and artists have stopped touring, you can still get a front-row seat to some amazing musical experiences. TIDAL has partnered with Facebook’s virtual reality platform Oculus “to bring live, immersive, and intimate music performances straight into people’s homes,” the press release says. Oculus Quest headsets, much like Facebook, help connect people with each other and the world through innovative, world-class VR hardware and software. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Meta Quest (@metaquest) The global music streaming service and social media titan wants fans to feel like they’re standing in the crowd at exclusive performances with VR, high-quality audio, and 2D video. The concerts will be available via virtual reality in the Venues app (found in the Oculus Quest) and in 2D video and high-quality audio in TIDAL. “At a time when livestreamed performances are seen as the new norm, TIDAL’s partnership with Oculus provides music lovers an...