Niantic is an augmented reality platform that enables developers to create immersive, interactive experiences that blend the physical and digital worlds. With Niantic, developers can create augmented reality (AR) games, applications, and experiences that are powered by real-world data and locations. Niantic
Niantic, Inc. is an American software development company and video game developer based in San Francisco. Niantic is best known for developing the augmented reality mobile games Ingress and Pokémon Go, the latter of which became a global cultural phenomenon upon its release in 2016, surpassing 1 billion downloads and significantly increasing public awareness of augmented reality technology. The company was formed as Niantic Labs in 2010 as an internal startup within Google, founded by John Hanke, who previously led Google's Geo division overseeing Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Street View. The company became an independent entity in October 2015 when Google restructured under Alphabet Inc.