Improbable

A British technology company, founded in London in 2012, known for SpatialOS and large-scale virtual worlds. It now describes itself as a venture builder creating ventures at the edge of what's possible.

About Improbable

Improbable is a British technology company that began by building technology for large-scale virtual worlds and now describes itself as a venture builder: a company that backs and builds new businesses in AI, Web3 and the metaverse. Its own site cites 17 ventures, including seven exits, and an incubation studio of more than 60 people. Its stated aim is "creating ventures at the edge of what's possible".

According to Wikipedia, it was founded in 2012 by Herman Narula, Peter Lipka and Rob Whitehead, and is headquartered in London. Improbable's own website says Narula and Whitehead, both Cambridge computer science students, founded it and that Lipka joined soon after to lead operations and strategy. Its best-known product was SpatialOS, a distributed system for running very large simulations, built to help game developers create huge shared worlds.

The company has changed a lot. Between 2016 and 2021 it built technology for large-scale virtual worlds in gaming, defence and entertainment. In 2023, according to Wikipedia, it sold its defence division to NOIA Capital, and earlier it sold its stake in a games studio to Tencent and other game businesses. Our sources disagree on some details of this history, so check current news before relying on it.

Improbable is a good example of a company that has reinvented itself several times. For young people, it shows how software engineering for games can lead into simulation, defence and new ventures. The pages we read do not describe early-careers programmes, so check its careers page for current roles. We have left out funding and deal values.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Backing and building new companies.', 'title': 'Venture building'}
• {'desc': 'Early-stage ventures in these areas.', 'title': 'AI, Web3 and metaverse ventures'}
• {'desc': 'Technology for large-scale virtual worlds.', 'title': 'SpatialOS (earlier product)'}
• {'desc': 'A studio of 60+ people (company figure).', 'title': 'Incubation studio'}

Key facts

• Founded: 2012 in London (Wikipedia); began in Cambridge (company site)
• Founders: Herman Narula, Rob Whitehead and Peter Lipka
• Described as a venture builder
• Defence division sold in June 2023 (Wikipedia)
• Earlier product: SpatialOS

Website: www.improbable.io