Niantic Spatial

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Niantic Spatial, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
FoundedMay 29, 2025; 5 months ago (2025-05-29)
FounderJohn Hanke
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Websitenianticspatial.com

Niantic Spatial, Inc. (ny-AN-tik SPAY-shəl)[1] is an American-based geospatial artificial intelligence (AI) and spatial computing company headquartered in San Francisco. The company was formed as a spin-off from Niantic in May 2025, following the sale of Niantic's games division which included Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now, to Scopely.[2]

The company develops AI models[further explanation needed] that help people and machines understand and interact with the physical world[promotion?].[3] These models support a variety of enterprise use cases such as intelligent logistics, spatial collaboration, and immersive entertainment as well as technologies such as AI agents, augmented reality glasses, and robots.[promotion?]

History

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Founding

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The technology and team behind Niantic Spatial originated within Niantic, Inc., which initially formed as an internal startup at Google in 2010.[4] As Niantic grew, the company evolved along two complementary paths: one focused on creating augmented reality location-based games[5], and another dedicated to advancing AR, AI, and geospatial technology.[6]

On March 12, 2025, Niantic announced an agreement to sell its mobile games division[7], excluding flagship AR applications Ingress and Peridot, to Scopely. The deal was finalized[8] on May 29, 2025, and Niantic Spatial was officially formed. The new company was initially capitalized with $250 million, consisting of $200 million from Niantic's balance sheet and a $50 million investment from Scopely.[9] All of Niantic's original investors remained shareholders in the new entity.

Niantic Spatial's founding leadership team notably includes John Hanke as chief executive officer, Brian McClendon as chief technology officer, and Thomas Gewecke as chief operating officer. Hanke and McClendon had previously founded Keyhole[10] which became the foundation for Google Earth and Google Maps. Gewecke was previously a senior business executive with tenure at Warner Brothers and Sony Music.[11]

Corporate history

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In June 2025, Snap Inc. invested an undisclosed amount of capital into Niantic Spatial. They also announced a multi-year partnership which will integrate Niantic Spatial's scanning technology and VPS into Snap's ecosystem and focus on jointly building a next-generation AI map.[12]

In June 2025, immersive art and entertainment company Meow Wolf announced they are teaming up with Niantic Spatial to bring the Meow Wolf Universe globally anywhere in the world using Niantic Spatial's AR and VPS technology.[13]

In September 2025, Aechelon Technology, a global leader in flight simulation, announced they are partnering to use Niantic Spatial's geospatial AI and reconstruction technology to enhance U.S. Coast Guard training by integrating real-world 3D scans into flight simulators.[14]

In September 2025, game designer Hideo Kojima announced he is teaming up with Niantic Spatial to redefine immersive entertainment by bringing Kojima Productions' iconic interactive storytelling into the real world using Niantic Spatial's geospatial AI technology.[15]

Technology and applications

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Large Geospatial Model

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Niantic Spatial's platform services are powered by its Large Geospatial Model (LGM), described as a spatial counterpart to large language models, meant to give machines a contextual understanding of space and structure.[16] The Large Geospatial Model, built on a proprietary database of over 30 billion posed images[17] from ground and overhead sensors, delivers three key services: Reconstruction, Localization, and Understanding.

Reconstruction focuses on creating digital twins. Niantic Spatial offers its scanning app, Scaniverse, on mobile devices, which utilizes Gaussian splatting to capture 3D models of objects, spaces, and environments in real-time.[18] Niantic Spatial also captures mapping data from aerial drones and a custom-built mapping device called Photon.[19]

Localization focuses on positioning users, AI agents, and AR content in space. Niantic Spatial offers its Visual Positioning System (VPS) for centimeter-scale positioning, orientation, and tracking for millions of pre-mapped locations[20], including GPS-denied environments.[21]

Understanding focuses on providing real-time contextual awareness of the world. Niantic Spatial’s AI capabilities deliver this through per-pixel semantic analysis to classify environments into categories like ground and sky[22], and computer vision models that detect and track over 200 types of objects.

8th Wall

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Niantic Spatial operates 8th Wall, a development platform that enables creators to build and publish interactive WebAR experiences. It provides a complete set of tools, including a cloud-based IDE and computer vision technology, allowing for the creation of immersive 3D and XR content that works across a wide range of devices without requiring an app.[23]

Immersive Entertainment

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Niantic Spatial operates real-world AR games and applications that serve as flagship demonstrations of its platform's capabilities.[24]

Ingress, launched in 2012 and upgraded from scratch in 2018, transferred to Niantic Spatial during its spin-off. Ingress is a global-scale version of capture the flag where players battle for control of virtual portals at real-world landmarks.[25]

Peridot, another full Niantic intellectual property, includes a collection of products within its franchise, transferred to Niantic Spatial during its spin-off. The first product is an AR and AI pet-simulation game that launched on mobile devices in 2023.[26] The next product is a mixed-reality experience on Meta Quest[27] and Apple Vision Pro[28] called Hello, Dot, an augmented-reality glasses experience on Snap's Spectacles called Peridot Beyond.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "'Pokemon Go' Owner Sells Games to Saudi Group for $3.5 Billion". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  2. ^ Astle, Aaron (March 13, 2025). "Niantic Spatial spin-off nets $250m funding after Scopely acquisition". www.pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  3. ^ Davis, Wes (November 20, 2024). "Niantic is building a 'geospatial' AI model based on Pokémon Go player data". The Verge. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  4. ^ Hern, Alex (August 14, 2015). "Niantic Labs departs from Google's Alphabet". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Alumni, Ellen DaSilva. "Niantic Labs and Pokemon Go: Bringing AR to the Masses". Digital Innovation and Transformation. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  6. ^ Heath, Alex (November 8, 2021). "Niantic launches platform to build 'real-world metaverse' apps". The Verge. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  7. ^ "'Pokemon Go' maker Niantic to sell game division to Saudi-owned Scopely for $3.5 billion". Reuters. March 12, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "Scopely to acquire Niantic games business, which includes "Pokémon GO," one of the most successful mobile games of all time". www.scopely.com. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  9. ^ Levine, Adam. "Pokémon Go Is Driving a $4 Billion Spinoff. Those Game Maps Could Be AI Gold". barrons. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  10. ^ "Geological Society of America - Honors & Awards". www.geosociety.org. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  11. ^ "Thomas Gewecke – VRTL SUMMIT". www.vrtlsummit.com. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  12. ^ Lang, Ben (June 20, 2025). "Snap Inc. & Niantic's New Partnership Could be a Big Moment for City-scale AR Positioning and Experiences". Road to VR. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  13. ^ bio, See full. "Meow Wolf's Weird Physical Universe Is Planning to Extend Into Augmented Reality". CNET. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  14. ^ "Niantic Spatial Partners With Aechelon on Coast Guard Training". Auganix.org. September 8, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  15. ^ Phillips, Tom (September 23, 2025). "Hideo Kojima Announces AR Project With Pokémon Go Creator Niantic Spatial". IGN. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  16. ^ Bobby Parikh (September 5, 2025). "Why enterprise AI's next breakthrough lies in spatial intelligence". TechRadar. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  17. ^ "Niantic ventures into the Geospatial with a purpose". Yahoo Tech. May 30, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  18. ^ Mehta, Ivan (August 26, 2024). "Niantic aims to build a richer 3D map of the world with a new version of Scaniverse app". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. ^ "Why AI has great vision but a terrible sense of direction". Niantic Spatial, Inc. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  20. ^ Heaney, David (August 11, 2025). "Niantic Spatial SDK Brings Outdoor VPS & Long-Distance Live Meshing To Quest 3". UploadVR. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  21. ^ McNabb, Ian (September 15, 2025). "Aechelon Techology Announces New Whole-Earth Digital Twin "Project Orbion"". DRONELIFE. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  22. ^ Hayden, Scott (November 8, 2021). "Niantic Kickstarts Its AR Metaverse with Release of Lightship SDK and $20M Developer Fund". Road to VR. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  23. ^ Peters, Jay (March 10, 2022). "Niantic's 'largest acquisition to date' shows the company is still pushing on AR". The Verge. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  24. ^ Sholtz, Matthew (March 12, 2025). "Pokémon Go has sold to Scopely as Niantic shifts focus to geospatial AI". Android Police. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  25. ^ Roettgers, Janko (October 15, 2015). "Niantic Labs Raises $20 Million to Turn the World Into an Augmented Reality Playground". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  26. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 7, 2023). "Pokémon Go maker's new virtual pet game Peridot launches in May". Polygon. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  27. ^ Hayden, Scott (May 9, 2025). "Niantic Spatial's Adorable Pet Sim 'Hello, Dot' Leaves Early Access on Quest 3". Road to VR. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  28. ^ Hamilton, Ian (November 18, 2024). "Niantic's Hello, Dot Arrives On Apple Vision Pro". UploadVR. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  29. ^ X; Email; LinkedIn (September 17, 2024). "A computer on your face? Snap and others still trying to make augmented reality glasses a reality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2025. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
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