3D design app Rooms, founded by ex-Google employees, recently secured $1 million in funding from Google, marking a major milestone for the platform. Since its beta launch in 2023, the app has gained traction as a powerful tool for creating interactive 3D rooms and mini-games using its expansive library of over 10,000 customizable items. This fresh funding underscores Google’s confidence in the app’s potential, as Rooms has now surpassed 1 million user-created rooms.
The investment is part of a broader partnership deal between Google and Rooms. In addition to funding, Rooms received early access to Google’s advanced Gemini AI technology, which will further enhance the app’s functionality and user experience.
What is Rooms? A Blend of Creativity and Coding
Founded by ex-Google employees Jason Toff, Bruno Oliveira, and Nick Kruge, each with expertise in AR/VR, gaming, and YouTube. Rooms allows users to create interactive 3D spaces and mini-games. The app combines a creative outlet with an introduction to coding by enabling users to edit their designs using the Lua programming language.
Beyond being just a 3D design tool, Rooms provides a TikTok-like interface for exploring user-created spaces in a vertical feed. This approach not only makes content discovery engaging but also encourages creators to share and remix each other’s digital creations.
Early Success and User Creativity
One standout creator, eodqueen, exemplifies this evolution. They began by designing standard rooms but eventually transitioned to creating larger, more complex spaces. By weaving in animation and interactivity, they’ve expanded what’s possible within Rooms, turning it into a medium for digital storytelling.
To make creation even more accessible, Rooms released its 3.0 update in November 2024. This update introduced the Actions Editor, allowing users to animate their designs without requiring coding skills. It marked a significant leap in usability, attracting a broader audience of non-coders who wanted to express themselves through 3D art.
Gemini AI Integration
Rooms is set to further transform the 3D design experience with its integration of Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash AI. This collaboration introduces a text-to-speech feature, enabling creators to add narrated characters to their rooms.
Notably, Gemini allows creators to customize the tone of the narration. Whether a character should sound enthusiastic, calm, angry, or excited, the app adapts accordingly. This feature, previewed in a YouTube demonstration by Rooms, opens new storytelling possibilities for creators.
A Growing Platform with Expanding Features
As of now, Rooms boasts over 10,000 items in its design inventory, up from 7,500 earlier in 2024. This growing library supports creators in designing more elaborate digital environments. Meanwhile, the platform’s user base has reached notable milestones: over 1 million rooms created and 250,000 registered users as of last year.
Despite these successes, Things, Inc., the company behind Rooms, has not disclosed recent user engagement metrics. However, the rapid expansion of the app’s features and its growing community hint at a platform with significant momentum.
Google’s Investment and the Path Ahead
Google’s $1 million funding was finalized in December 2024 as part of a SAFE agreement, giving Google the option to invest in Rooms’ next funding round (Series A). Notably, the funding did not come from GV (Google Ventures) but directly from Google itself.
Prior to this, Rooms raised $10 million in seed funding from high-profile investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, and Adobe’s Scott Belsky. This impressive roster of backers reflects the industry’s belief in Rooms’ innovative potential.
While Rooms has yet to introduce monetization, its popularity on iOS and web platforms positions it well for future growth. With Gemini AI integration and continued support from Google, Rooms is primed to redefine how users engage with 3D design and storytelling.
