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Absurd:Joy has raised an estimated $4 million for its Tangle platform, which provides a virtual workspace for remote teams.
The company, trading as Tangle, is gearing up for its commercial launch later this year after a limited period of early access.
Built from the ground up for remote teams, Tangle took the value of the office and completely reimagined it for the remote work culture, and it’s built by game developers who previously created some successful VR games.
Tangle, a new virtual hub, offers shoulder-to-shoulder collaboration from anywhere, simplifying communication and fostering a people-first culture.
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Sign up here $10 million raised by Tangle founders Cy Wise and Alex Schwartz.
Qualcomm Ventures led the round and joins March Gaming and Dune Ventures along with other prominent industry leaders as investors in Tangle. This investment brings Tangle’s total funding to over $10 million.
Tangle’s mission is to turn the current culture of remote work on its head with back-to-back video meetings and endless notifications that leave people feeling burned out and isolated. Tangle customers with early access experience fewer meetings, fewer misunderstandings, faster decision-making, and the kind of creative sparks you’d expect from face-to-face interactions – essential prerequisites for more sustainable work environments and stronger employee engagement.
One Early Access customer saw up to 50% fewer meetings, while another reported making decisions up to 75% faster. With customizable ambient audio, the option to appear on camera or as a customizable avatar, cheerful design on an endless canvas, and rich team interactions like sending hearts and confetti to a teammate for a job well done, Tangle brings teams together no matter what how they want to work.
“We set out to rethink long-distance communications and challenge notions of current industry standards,” said Alex Schwartz, CEO of Tangle, in a statement. “We built Tangle to prioritize culture, connectedness and people. Current industry tools for remote work are disjointed and take a psychological toll on remote workers. Tangle was designed to empower employees to experience social cues and express themselves as themselves, creating a more sustainable remote work environment that people actually want to spend time in.”
Tangle launch ramps come with room variations.
As Tangle prepares for commercial launch later this year, Early Access customers have provided invaluable feedback on the immediate benefits to their team.
“Our fully remote team has clear communication and cohesion thanks to Tangle,” said Matt Schembari, CEO of Lightforge Games, in a statement. “In particular, we use Tangle for the social elements – eavesdropping on chats, getting real-time feedback, and even just sipping coffee. Tangle defines how we build camaraderie and feel connected as a team, which contributes to our high level of employee retention.”
“The increasingly hybrid and remote world requires communication tools that improve collaboration,” said Sachin Deshpande, senior director of Qualcomm Ventures, in a statement. “Tangle’s unique solution enables remote workspaces to feel like physical offices by creating more social and fun interactions. We are excited to invest in Tangle as they unleash the metaverse into the workspace with leading on-device AI technology.”
Previously, Qualcomm Ventures invested in Owlchemy Labs, a company founded by Tangle’s Schwartz and Cy Wise. Google acquired Owlchemy in 2017.
After Google acquired Owlchemy Labs, entrepreneurs Schwartz and Wise set out to fix something they felt was deeply broken. They used their expertise in sociology and human behavior, building game studios and designing weird yet intuitive, accessible technologies (like their virtual reality hit Job Simulator) to build the remote work tool of their dreams – Tangle.
“Our belief that Tangle is changing the game for virtual presence at work has only grown, and we’re excited to welcome new investor Qualcomm Ventures to this investment round,” said Louis Gresham, partner at March Gaming, in a Explanation. “We couldn’t be more excited to help the visionaries behind Tangle grow this innovative virtual hub for hybrid and remote workers.”
In addition to investments from Qualcomm Ventures, March Gaming and Dune Ventures, industry leaders and executives from Unity, Apple, Microsoft, Redfin and Roblox have contributed funds to build and grow Tangle.
For updates and more information about Tangle, visit tangle.app to sign up for early access.
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