Improbable that UK startup is worth $1bn price tag? Don't bet against it

Shocked that UK developer Improbable has been subject to a $502m investment? In the long-game of tech predictions, it could turn out to be a smart move

The idea that the next British unicorn (the term for a startup valued over $1bn) could be the developer of a cloud-computing platform for video games seems, well, improbable.

But that's what's happened, following an enormous $502m investment in London-based Improbable from Japan's SoftBank corporation. In a single transaction, the sum - which is for a minority stake in the company, with its three founders, Herman Narula (29) Rob Whitehead (26) and Peter Lipka (28) still holding the majority of shares - took the firm into the big league.