Google is investing $1 million in 3D design app rooms after creating more than a million “rooms.”
3D design application Rooms Just got more funding. I set off To beta release in 2023the app from former Google employees allows users to create and code interactive rooms and 3D mini-games using a library of more than 10,000 objects, which can be further edited using the Lua programming language.
Now, Google itself has invested $1 million in the app as part of a partnership deal that also brought early access to Rooms to Google’s Gemini AI.
Founded by former Google employees, including Jason Toff, Bruno Oliveira, and Nick Kruge, who have backgrounds in AR/VR, gaming, and YouTube, Rooms offers a way to create small 3D spaces, as well as a TikTok-like experience for browsing those spaces. In vertical feeding. Part creative outlet and part introduction to programming, this experience allows Room creators to express themselves through digital art that others can then remix in rooms of their own making.
Initially, creators were building simple spaces and small games using the technology, but recent trends see people building larger spaces and using the app to tell stories, Toff tells TechCrunch.
One example of this trend comes from the user named com. eodqueenwho first built standard rooms and later began creating larger spaces while also weaving in animation and interactivity.
The app itself was also updated to version 3.0 on November 26, 2024 with a new version Action editor It allows users to bring their rooms to life without the need for programming. Soon, Rooms plans to leverage its access to Gemini to further enhance the app experience via text-to-speech mode.
Thanks to integration with Gemini 2.0 Flash, creators will be able to add Narration and Characters will be able to talkwhich will enable broader storytelling capabilities.
Creators will also be able to choose the type of tone they should use when characters speak, such as angry, bored, calm, confident, enthusiastic, happy, excited, etc., according to clarification From the feature published by Chambers on YouTube.
Things, Inc., the company behind Rooms, also announced that it has surpassed 1 million rooms built on the platform and that more than 10,000 things and objects are now in its inventory for designing these small digital spaces. The latter is on top of more than 7,500 digital items As of April 2024.
The startup is not sharing any updates about user numbers or engagement times, however last year Rooms has increased to a quarter of a million registered users.
The funding, which closed in December, came from Google itself (not GV, Alphabet’s investment arm) and was structured as a SAFE, giving Google the ability to invest in Rooms’ next round, a Series A. The startup previously It raised $10 million In seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Design and Emerging Products, Scott Belsky, as well as Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, among others.
Rooms Currently available on the web and on iOS. Not yet monetized.
