Forbes on Flipboard

Government planners who want to transform their congested metropolises have to do more than set up a few thousand extra sensors and plug them into some clever software. They need to build a simulation of their city, complete with virtual moving cars and "living" people, to test the software and the artificial intelligence that might make the decisions that help keep it running smoothly. Improbable has been selling access to its simulation-building platform, SpacialOS, to government planners for a few years now, and on Friday it announced a huge injection of cash that will allow it to expand to more clients, and with more features. The London-based startup has raised $502 million from a small passel of investors led by Softbank. Improbable will use the money to hire more staff for its office in Farringdon, London and in San Francisco, including distributed-systems engineers and "lots of game talent," the company's founder says.