Welcome to the December edition of the BITKRAFT Ventures Newsletter!
BITKRAFT Ventures
The global investment platform for gaming, Web3, AI and immersive technology. ??
Welcome to the holiday edition of the BITKRAFT newsletter! As usual, lots has happened since the last time you heard from us.?
First up, we are proud to say our BITKRAFT Summit 2024 was a massive success. Held in the heart of San Francisco at the Hibernia, we welcomed our backers and shared our firm’s updates, performance and strategy. We also shared the stage with portfolio companies who provided a closer look at what’s happening in the games, Web3, AI and XR industries. Keep an eye on our social media as we continuously share videos and insights from the event. We are looking forward to next year’s summit as we plan to level things up by kicking off the event in LA!
We're also excited to announce that Blue Owl's GP Strategic Capital platform has made a passive minority investment in BITKRAFT. This partnership will help us level up our operating capabilities and expand our investment platform, which already manages over $1B across early-stage, growth-stage, and Web3/crypto investments.
And speaking of expanding – we're thrilled to welcome gaming industry veteran Anuj Tandon as our newest Partner! With nearly 15 years of experience in the Indian gaming scene and a track record that includes leading KRAFTON's investments in India and MENA, Anuj will be establishing BITKRAFT's presence in India's rapidly growing gaming market. Fun fact: India's gaming market is projected to grow at 14.5% between 2023 and 2028 – that's almost double the global growth rate!
Rising through the ranks: congratulations to our team members who recently were promoted! Carlos Pereira has been promoted to General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures while Jonathan Huang is now Partner. Their promotions reflect the continued buildout of BITKRAFT's Web3 strategy, which has been under Carlos' leadership since 2022 and will now be further bolstered in Asia through Jonathan's experience and focus in the region. Meanwhile, Peter Pilone has been named Senior Associate on the Equity team, Candace Kim is now an Associate on the Equity team and Ben Naylor is an Associate on the crypto team.
Finally, a huge shoutout to BITKRAFT Partner Jasper Brand for making Forbes 30 Under 30 in Games!
While we’ve been making waves on our end, our portfolio – and the industry – have been cooking up some pretty exciting stories of their own. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Series Entertainment leverages generative AI through its Rho Engine to allow creators to build story-driven gaming experiences. Read about their $28M Series A round here.?
Loot Labs is a gamified online marketplace for collectible cards with an eye on tradeable digital collectibles. Read about their $6M seed round here.
Party Icons is a multi-game metaverse for mobile and PC, featuring mechanics that blend casual play, strategy, and an open economy for both traditional and Web3 gamers. Read about their $9M seed round here.?
Buddy.ai is a game that uses an animated, multimodal, conversational character to help children learn English as a second language. Read about their $11M seed round here.?
Starform is the developer of Metalstorm, a 5v5 air-combat arena shooter game. Read about their $6M funding round here.?
Ruckus Games is a studio founded by Gearbox and Riot alumni creating a co-op third-person stylized shooter. Read about their $19M Series A round here.
Appcharge provides a direct-to-consumer platform enabling mobile game publishers to sell in-game items and currency directly to players through customizable web stores. Read about their $26M Series A round here.?
Finnish game developer Return Entertainment is seeing promising results with its cloud-based games on Samsung smart TVs in the U.S. as they provide a new way to dive into
cinematic games all while players use their smartphones as controllers.
Web3 community and blockchain SuperVerse partnered with a number of new crypto games, including Sipher Odyssey, a fast-paced roguelite with reimagined weapons and powerful ranged and melee combat mechanics, and Shatterline, an first-person shooter with roguelike co-op PVE and PVP modes.?
Cartridge introduced BEAST SLAYERS, a fully onchain collaborative Telegram game on?
Starknet. The game seeks to enable a seamless fully onchain experience on the Telegram platform, which boasts over 700 million monthly active users and an increasing catalogue of mobile games.
Epic Games says they are "financially sound" as their store hits 70 million monthly active users. According to CEO Tim Sweeney, their flagship title Fortnite reached an "all-time peak" of 110 million MAUs last holiday.
Studio 369’s mech shooter MetalCore originally launched on Ethereum’s Immutable zkEVM back in May, but the game swapped it for Solana, citing Solana’s “exceptional” ability to process a large number of transactions and growing ecosystem as to why it’s making the move.
Immutable and Sequence, two BITKRAFT portfolio solutions that support Web3 game development, announced a strategic partnership and co-branded technical integration to enable developers to build with Sequence’s technology on Immutable’s zkEVM chain.
After reaching millions of players with NFL Rivals, Mythical Games is taking a shot at Web3 soccer in a team-up with FIFA to create mobile NFT game FIFA Rivals. The game will launch in summer of 2025.
Pocket Worlds' CEO Anton Bernstein shared his thoughts with PocketGamer on the mobile platform and virtual world Highrise as well as the growing popularity of user-generated content.
Voicemod has released the Voicemod Key dongle for consoles in the U.S. for consoles. The dongle enables its soundboard and voice-changing desktop software to work on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
The Guillemot family, Ubisoft's largest shareholder, is reportedly in talks with second-largest shareholder Tencent and other investors about a management-led buyout while aiming to retain control over the company.
Minecraft has struck a deal with UK-headquartered Merlin Entertainments – Europe’s largest theme park operator and the second biggest globally after Disney. They are due to open Minecraft experiences in the UK and the US in 2026 and 2027.
The games company is celebrating its 30 year anniversary with retro hardware and home screen backgrounds, which some players are hoping they will keep permanently.?
Android XR is a new operating system built for XR devices such as Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality headsets. It’s reported to allow developers to more easily access development tools and AI capabilities.
The hybrid model is a combination of in-app purchasing (IAP) and in-app advertising (IAA). According to AppsFlyer, hybrid models generated 146% return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) by mid-core Android gamers’ 90th day, compared with IAP-only (93%) and IAA-only models (58%).
“We want to create games that reflect the rich diversity of our players.”
Superbloom, co-founded by gaming veterans Emily Yim and Ksusha Zito, is a female-led studio dedicated to creating lifestyle games that resonate with women’s real-life interests, exemplified by their debut mobile app, Venue, which blends gaming with interior design. Drawing from their extensive industry experience—Emily’s leadership roles at Zynga, Dots, and Glu, and Ksusha’s technical expertise from Dots and The New York Times Games team—they aim to offer innovative and meaningful gaming experiences. Their journey underscores the importance of flexibility, resilience, and assembling a diverse, empathetic team, especially within a remote work environment.?
Read their story here.
BITKRAFT Jobs
We’re looking for a Head of M&A who’s both professionally and personally passionate about games and interactive media to guide our portfolio companies through mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. The person in this position will be there every step of the way, helping them connect with advisors and lock in the best deals. For those with solid M&A experience who love the gaming world, apply here!
Our Portfolio is Hiring!
Our portfolio companies are currently looking to fill more than 240 positions in a variety of functions. If you’re on the hunt for something new, or know someone who is, take a look at our database of open roles. Be sure to follow our very own Brooke Grabrian and Amanda Rose Timm for real-time announcements.
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Disclosures
Specific investments described herein do not represent all investment decisions made by BITKRAFT Ventures. The reader should not assume that investment decisions identified and discussed were or will be profitable.? Specific investment advice references provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily representative of investments that will be made in the future.
All material risks of investment
Not an offer: This document does not constitute advice or a recommendation or offer to sell or a solicitation to deal in any security or financial product. It is provided for information purposes only and on the understanding that the recipient has sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to understand and make their own evaluation of the proposals and services described herein, any risks associated therewith and any related legal, tax, accounting or other material considerations. To the extent that the reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to their specific portfolio or situation, prospective investors are encouraged to contact BITKRAFT Ventures or consult with the professional advisor of their choosing.
Third Party information: Certain information contained herein has been obtained from third party sources and such information has not been independently verified by BITKRAFT Ventures. No representation, warranty, or undertaking, expressed or implied, is given to the accuracy or completeness of such information by BITKRAFT Ventures or any other person. While such sources are believed to be reliable, BITKRAFT Ventures does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information. BITKRAFT Ventures does not undertake any obligation to update the information contained herein as of any future date.
Forward-looking statements: Certain information contained herein constitutes “forward-looking statements,” which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue,” or “believe,” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or actual performance may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Nothing contained herein may be relied upon as a guarantee, promise, assurance or a representation as to the future.
Past Performance: There is no guarantee that the investment objectives will be achieved. Moreover, the past performance is not a guarantee or indicator of future results.
CEO at Sonzai Labs
2 个月Big promotions and super well deserved!! Congrats Carlos G. Pereira Jonathan Huang Time to update your LinkedIn guys!