Grishin Robotics, an international venture capital fund with Russian roots, has led a $14 million round of financing for Wonder, a Los Angeles-based startup which is developing an “all-in-one and one-for-all-gamers” product with a focus on virtual reality (VR) features.
The startup makes much ado about what it says will be a “new type of portable hardware device” or “a hybrid between a powerful smartphone and a gaming console” — but keeps all details secret.
Also taking part in the round, according to Grishin Robotics, were TCL (the global mobile phone maker that owns the Alcatel and Palm brands), 8VC (a fund which also invested in Oculus and Hyperloop One), Moonshots Capital (LinkedIn and Pandora), as well as several individual investors including Colombian singer Shakira and football stars Gérard Piqué and Neymar.
Launched in 2012 by Mail.Ru Group’s CEO Dmitry Grishin, Grishin Robotics initially focused exclusively on robotics, then started showing interest in such areas as collaborative and material handling robots, AI and data analytics, industrial IoT and other hardware or software innovation.
Last year Grishin announced a new $100 million fund to invest in the USA and Europe.
