Sphero secures new round of funding

Sphero, the toy firm behind the enormously successful Star Wars BB-8 toy has secured a new round of funding, raising $35 million of a $43 million investment round.

The Denver Business Journal has reported that new funds will go to investing in the business, marketing, and expanding product lines, adding to the $115 million the firm has raised since it was founded in 2010.

The US toy company found success in holiday 2015, when the spherical BB-8 toy shot to the top of the toy charts due to the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The announcement came on the same day as the DVD and Blu-Ray launch of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In honour of the launch, the firm released a software update to enable its BB-8 robots to react to the movie when watching it with their owners.