The 3D design application Rooms has recently secured additional funding. Launched in beta in 2023 by former Google employees, this app empowers users to construct and programme interactive 3D rooms and mini-games, boasting a library of over 10,000 items that can be customised with the Lua programming language.
In a significant move, Google has invested $1 million into the app, which comes as part of a partnership deal offering Rooms early access to Google’s Gemini AI technology.
Founded by ex-Googlers such as Jason Toff, Bruno Oliveira, and Nick Kruge, who possess expertise in AR/VR, gaming, and YouTube, Rooms allows users to create mini 3D environments alongside a TikTok-style browsing experience for exploring these spaces in a vertical format. This platform serves as both a creative outlet and an introduction to coding, enabling “room” creators to showcase their creativity through digital art, which can then be remixed by others into their unique creations.
Initially, users focused on building simple spaces and mini-games, but more recent trends indicate a shift towards constructing larger environments and telling stories using the app, according to Toff’s insights shared with StartupSuperb.
One notable example of this trend is the user known as eodqueen, who began by designing standard rooms before moving on to create expansive environments enriched with animation and interactivity.
The app itself received an update to version 3.0 on November 26, 2024, introducing a new Actions editor that allows users to animate their rooms without requiring coding skills. Rooms plans to utilise its partnership with Gemini to further enhance in-app capabilities, with an upcoming text-to-speech mode.
Thanks to integration with Gemini 2.0 Flash, creators will be able to incorporate narration and enable characters to speak, vastly improving storytelling opportunities within the app.
Additionally, users can choose the tone of voice for character dialogues, including options like angry, bored, calm, confident, enthusiastic, happy, excited, and others, as demonstrated in a video published by Rooms on YouTube.
Things, Inc., the company behind Rooms, also revealed that it has exceeded 1 million rooms created on its platform and now boasts an inventory of over 10,000 items and objects for these digital environments, increasing from over 7,500 digital items as of April 2024.
While there are no updates on user numbers or engagement duration, the startup previously reported reaching a quarter of a million registered users last year.
The recent funding, which was finalised in December, came from Google directly (not from GV, Alphabet’s venture arm) and was structured as a SAFE, granting Google the opportunity to participate in Rooms’ next investment round, its Series A. Previously, the startup raised $10 million in seed funding from notable investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Design & Emerging Products Scott Belsky, and Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger.
Rooms is accessible on the web and iOS platforms, with monetisation strategies yet to be implemented.