Improbable achieves profitability for the first time
Company was founded in 2012, posted profits of £11 million in 2023
Tech firm Improbable has posted its first full-year profit, recording £11 million in the black for 2023.
The company announced this news as it submitted its filing to Companies House yesterday, also reporting a 37% year-on-year increase in revenue to £66 million and a cash position of £185 million.
Improbable was founded in 2012 and originally focused on technology that could be used to create large-scale, persistent simulations for use in video games. In 2021, it shifted focus towards metaverse technologies, although some of its tools can still be used for games and virtual worlds.
At the end of last year announced it as transitioning to a 'venture builder' model. The company will be creating startups that use its technology, targeting the metaverse, AI and blockchain sectors.
"A decade ago, we embarked on the challenging yet immensely rewarding journey of focusing on distributed systems for virtual worlds," said founder and CEO Herman Narula. "Over this period, we have honed our expertise in bringing complex technology products to market, seeded and grown businesses, and developed proprietary technology with significant barriers to entry.
"Two years ago, we doubled down on our commitment to the metaverse. In 2023, we recorded revenues of £66 million and achieved a total profit of £11 million, driven by growth, cost discipline, and divestment of high-value assets. We’ve uniquely demonstrated the ability to pursue distinct, real businesses simultaneously."
While Improbable initially targeted games development, it has sold off all of its games businesses over the past few years.
In 2022, Nightingale developer Inflexion was sold to Tencent, and Scavengers creator Midwinter Entertaiment was acquired by Behaviour Interactive (Scavengers itself was shut down later that year).
In December 2023, Keywords took over The Multiplayer Guys for £76.5 million.
The firm's tech impressed investors and the company raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, including a $500 million investment by Softbank in 2017.