- Lupa Systems — the venture capital arm led by former 21st Century Fox chairman James Murdoch — has reportedly invested $20 million in The Void
James Murdoch — the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, former chairman and CEO of News Corp, and younger son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch — has reportedly invested $20 million in location-based virtual reality (VR) experiences The Void, according to Bloomberg.
The funding was made via Murdoch’s Lupa Systems venture capital arm. Lupa Systems was established with $1 billion in proceeds from the sale of his stake in 21st Century Fox to Disney this year.
This past summer, The Void chairman and founding partner Craig Watson replaced Cliff Plumer for the CEO role. And Void Chief Financial Officer Jeff Ruggels is also departing from the company, which has been planned for a while.
The Void launched in 2015 and its existing investors include Disney, Fidelity and Qualcomm Ventures. And former Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin worked as a senior adviser to The Void for a year, according to Bloomberg’s sources.
The Void runs a number of movie-themed VR experiences at malls and movie theaters around the world in locations such as Las Vegas, Toronto, and Dubai. And The Void is planning to set up more locations in New York, Hollywood, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
The Void is partnered with Disney and Lucasfilm’s ILMxLab at a number of locations for projects like “Ralph Breaks VR” and “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire.”
Other investments that Murdoch’s Lupa made include Artists, Writers and Artisans (comic book publisher led by former Marvel publisher Bill Jemas) and UBIQ Aerospace in Norway. Murdoch is also reportedly working with Comcast on a larger investment in India-based TV media company Zee Entertainment reported Bloomberg’s sources.
And some of the team members that work at Lupa Systems include Jeff Palker (managing partner and general counsel), Ben FitzGerald (partner), Eleni Lionaki (partner), Frederic Michel (partner), and Trent Meinke (associate).
