Engine developer Unity Technologies has attracted $5.5 million in investment as it closes its latest funding round, according to multiple online reports.
Some sources indicate Menlo Park-based Sequoia Capital led the funding, while others suggest it was responsible for the full sum, some of the first notable publicly disclosed funding for the firm.
The Unity engine, launched in 2005 and currently at version 2.5, has gained significant traction in recent years, in no small part due to its low licensing cost and web browser-based plug-in and iPhone support, with PC, Mac and Wii versions now available and other console versions likely impending.
Notable games built on Unity include the Grigon Entertainment's MMO Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall, EA's Tiger Woods web game, numerous games by independent dev house Flashbang Studios including Off-Road Velociraptor Safari and Minotaur China Shop, and Three Melons' Lego Star Wars: The Quest For R2D2.
Unity Technologies recently moved its headquarters to San Francisco from Copenhagen, to facilitate contact with licensees.
The company's annual Unite Conference, aimed at educating Unity-based developers, occurs from the 27th to 30th of this month in San Francisco. During the event, which will be covered by Gamasutra, the company will likely officially announce the details of its new investment.
[UPDATE]: Unity confirmed on October 26 that in addition to Sequoia, the financing round also included David Gardner, the CEO of Atari, and Diane Greene, founder and former CEO of VMware. Sequoia partner Roelof Botha Greene will be joining Unity's board of directors.]
