Sea invests in Singapore motion-capture gaming startup Refract's S$8.5m round

REFRACT, a Singapore-based startup working on motion-capture technology for gaming, has raised S$8.5 million in a Series A round anchored by New York-listed Sea. Other backers include international family offices and individual investors.

Refract will use the fresh funds to develop its wearable full-body motion-capture technology, AXIS. The startup wants to be a major player in the extended reality (XR) - which includes immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality - and metaverse space.

Besides Refract, Sea has made other startup investments, notably through Garena and the group's investment arm Sea Capital.

Sea Capital has invested in cryptocurrency exchange FTX and blockchain gaming unicorn Forte. The unit was established early last year following the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Composite Capital Management, founded by former Hillhouse Capital partner David Ma.

Ma joined the investment arm as chief investment officer. Sea Capital is deploying an initial fund of US$1 billion over the next few years.

Sea's startup investments could give it more insight into where the opportunities are in emerging technologies.

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In particular, investors have long viewed Sea's gaming arm Garena as a cash cow for the group, helping to fund the aggressive but loss-making expansion of e-commerce arm Shopee. Garena's ace is its hugely popular battle royale game Free Fire, but questions have emerged over the gaming unit's next big hit.

In January 2020, Garena said it acquired Canada-based Phoenix Labs, the gaming developer behind the monster-hunting game Dauntless. The deal was worth over US$150 million, according to sources. Last year, Garena participated in the funding rounds of game studios UnusuAll, based in Spain; PopScreen Games, based in France; and Double Loop, based in San Francisco.

Refract said in a press statement on Tuesday (Jan 25) that Sea's funding follows the startup's acquisition of game developer Deep Dive Studios for an undisclosed amount and recently-concluded crowdfunding campaign for AXIS, which raised S$195,389.

Refract said Deep Dive allows it to create more immersive titles to supplement its offerings, such as the FreeStriker fighting game that is currently in development.

There are no specific projects with Garena in the pipeline, and Sea's investment "is separate from other initiatives by Garena," Refract said.

The startup has over 50 employees, including veterans from Unity, EA and Ubisoft. The company is establishing a game publishing arm to fuel the next stage of growth.

Founded in 2018, the startup has worked with organisations such as World Taekwondo on a virtual sports programme. Refract plans to feature AXIS at the 2022 Global Esports Games in Istanbul, Turkey.