Bublcam 360 degree camera raises $4.6 million

The Toronto-based company has announced that its founder Sean Ramsay will leave his post as chief executive officer and assume the role chief innovation officer as he turns his attention solely to building the product and the technology.

Bublcam takes both pictures and video in a spherical range which creates a new experience for photographers who feel constrained by panoramic shots. The baseball-sized camera has four lenses, which grab images from all directions, and laces the information together to create a realistic 360-degree version of a natural environment.

Bubl represents one of the most promising startups in the $15.9 billion VR entertainment market where spherical media has huge potential to fundamentally change the way audiences interact with content.

“We have been thrilled to work with Bubl’s founders on this successful raise and are looking forward to this next stage of their evolution. They are a company well positioned for tremendous growth,” said Ana Serrano, Chief Digital Officer, CFC and Executive Director, IDEABOOST digital entertainment accelerator.

Dan Mills, who also helped launch the startup, will become CEO on an interim basis, after serving as vice president of hardware for the past several years.

“We’ve got a proven, viable product now – both hardware and software – and we’re ready for prime time,” said Mills in an interview.

“It really is just getting it out there … and building on some of the relationships that Sean has already put together.”

The move comes as Bubl closes financing from a group of private
investors, which includes Samsung Ventures, a division of the electronics company which invests in small developers for an equity stake in the company.

The other key investor is J-Tech Capital, a consortium of Chinese investors who are looking to help Canadian startups enter Asian markets.

Bublcam is just one of many 360-degree cameras vying for a share of a niche part of the photography sales market.

Earlier this month, the company delivered its first round of shipments to customers who helped fund the company during its initial Kickstarter campaign.

“We really want to stay ahead any emerging competitors,” Mills said.

In the coming months, Bubl Technologies aims to ramp up manufacturing to make online inventory of its cameras more consistent.

Eventually, the company hopes to expand its interactive videos and still images into the future of virtual world technology by making the Bublcam compatible with VR headsets.

Bubl Technologies was founded in 2011 and has about 30 employees.