. >>> niantic, the developer of pokemongo announced that it raised $245 million in a venture fundingnd led byround. the company valued at $4 billion. joining us to discuss the future of augmented reality and niantic, the ceo john hanky. >> good morning. >> you have harry potter wizards y unite coming out pokemon go kicked off this augmented reality thing. how will you take it to the next level? >> we saw growth in 2018 over 2017 it's a healthy foundation for the company. we are looking to basically add onto that with the launch of wizards y wizards unite this year. we're building towards that. >> you say you saw growth in 2018 over '17, the presipercepts there was a lot of hype in 2016 and then it fell off, that's wrong? >> it was one of the fastest growing launches of any product ever in terms of number of downloads and revenue and the global phenomenon of people flooding the streets it continues to be a strong product after that very active global community it's one of the larger mobile games out there. >> the money you raised, what will it go toward. independent event of raising a

niantic's pokÉmon go has been downloaded 8 million times and they are preparing for their next launchu think it is worth that much? >> the company has strong financial metrics. it has generated more than $2 billion in revenue. the finances are just kind of a first step. this is a company that is a leader in defining a whole new category. right now, it is thought of as a gain company but it is way, way beyond that. we love game companies, but this one is really special because you think about your child gaming, you worry about them being inside, always on the console, whatever. this gets people out on the street, socializing with others. emily: pokÉmon go made a huge splash, then the buzz kind of died down. what is happening? sandy: it was an amazing splash. you could never keep up that kind of momentum on something. in fact, pokÉmon go is bigger than ever. the company has found many ways of enhancing the product, the user experience. they run big festivals, there are all kinds of competitions, new features. pokÉmon go is bigger than ever. emily: what is the harry potter game going to