Upon its debut in the Meta Quest Store, the virtual reality-driven basketball app announced a group of new investors including Lonzo Ball, Andre Iguodala, and Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V.
Gym Class VR, an app that lets players around the world meet on VR basketball courts for pickup games, officially launched in the Meta Quest Store after a successful Beta run and secured millions in new additional funding, the company announced Thursday.
Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35V, Andre Iguodala and Rudy Cline-Thomas, Lonzo Ball, GSW Sports Ventures, Danny Green, Zaza Pachulia, and Aneel Ranadive’s SOMA Capital are among the new investors in Gym Class VR. After Andreesen Horowitz led the prior seed round over the summer, the new infusion of capital brings the company’s funding total to just under $9 million to date, per an official release.
“Since its introduction last year, Gym Class VR has become the top app for anyone looking to play virtual reality basketball,” said company co-founder and Chief Product Officer Paul Katsen. “We’re excited to welcome new players to the world’s largest VR basketball community as Gym Class VR launches in the Meta Quest store. We thank our fantastic investors for believing in what we are building, with the promise of more exciting news and partnerships coming later this year.”
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During its Beta phase on the Meta Quest Store, Gym Class VR boasted an average 4.9-star rating based on more than 16,000 reviews. The average session lasts 50 minutes, with the average user burning up to 300 calories during that time. The app is free to use, but also offers optional in-app purchases like the $14.99 “GM Mode,” which includes a private custom court and various bonus skins and avatars.
“The Gym Class VR team is reimagining the way people play, learn, exercise, and socialize through basketball,” said Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “It’s rare that one app can deliver everything from social engagement to content creation to fitness, and all through VR. We are strong believers in the vision and the team who continue to prove that Gym Class VR has a massive audience and opportunity.”
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