3D design app Rooms has raised more funding. Launched in beta in 2023, the app was created by a former Google employee and allows users to build and code interactive 3D rooms and minigames using a library of over 10,000 items, using the programming language Lua. You can use it for further editing.
Now, Google itself has invested $1 million into the app as part of a partnership deal, and Rooms will also be given early access to Google's Gemini AI.
Founded by former Googlers with experience in AR/VR, gaming, and YouTube, including Jason Toff, Bruno Oliveira, and Nick Kluge, Rooms teaches you how to create mini 3D spaces and how to view them on TikTok. provide an experience like this. With vertical feed. The experience is both a creative outlet and an introduction to coding, allowing room creators to express themselves through digital art and remix it into rooms others have created.
Initially, creators used the technology to build simple spaces and mini-games, but recent trends have seen more people building even larger spaces and using the app to tell stories. Toff tells TechCrunch.
One example of this trend comes from a user named eodqueen. He first built a standard room and then began creating larger spaces, incorporating animation and interactivity.
The app itself was also updated to version 3.0 on November 26, 2024, adding a new action editor that allows users to bring rooms to life without having to write any code. Soon, Rooms will leverage access to Gemini to further enhance the in-app experience through text-to-speech mode.
Integration with Gemini 2.0 Flash allows creators to add voice-overs and allow characters to speak, allowing for a wider range of storytelling capabilities.
Creators can also choose what tone their characters should use when speaking, according to a demonstration of the feature posted by Rooms on YouTube. For example, angry, bored, calm, confident, enthusiastic, happy, excited, etc.
Things, Inc., which runs Rooms, also announced that it has over 1 million rooms built on its platform and currently has over 10,000 objects and objects in its inventory to design these small digital spaces. . The latter is up from over 7,500 digital items as of April 2024.
Rooms has grown to 250,000 registered users in the last year, although the company doesn't release updated information on user numbers or engagement time.
The funding, which closed in December, came from Google itself (rather than Alphabet's venture arm GV) and was structured as a SAFE, allowing Google to invest in Rooms' next round, a Series A. Ta. The startup previously raised $10 million. Krieger and others raised seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Scott Belsky, Adobe's chief strategy officer and vice president of design and emerging products, and Instagram co-founder Mike.
Rooms is currently available on the web and iOS. Monetization has not yet been introduced.