EMBRACING THE INDUSTRY
Our passion for interactive entertainment shapes our values and drives our desire for industry innovation.
FAITH IN OUR FOUNDERS
The past, present, and future of the industry is powered by visionaries. We trust and support our founders by providing capital, strategic guidance, and access to our global network of allies.
CHARGING FORWARD, TOGETHER
Our knowledge, experience, and global network keep us attuned to the industry’s shifting landscape. We seize opportunities and support our founders through ever-uncertain times.
UPDATES
Genvid raises $6 million more from investors, unveils 5 games using its streaming tech
Genvid Technologies has expanded its latest round of funding with additional funding from strategic investors NTT Docomo Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and Huya. Full told, the streaming company’s Series B funding has now reached $33 million, up from $27 million announced in November, and it’s raised $53 million to date.
Rune founders selected in 30 under 30 in Europe
The two founders of Rune have been selected for 30 under 30 in EUROPE-SPORTS & GAMES category.
End Game, the startup behind Zombs Royale, raises $3M
End Game has just raised $3 million in seed funding from an impressive group of investors: The round was led by the game-focused firm Makers Fund, with participation from Clash of Clans developer Supercell, Unity CEO David Helgason, Twitch COO Kevin Lin, Twitch VP Hubert Thieblot, Danny Epstien and Alexandre Cohen of Main Street Advisors and music executive Scooter Braun.
Midnite raises $2.5M for its esports betting platform
Midnite, the London-based esports betting startup from the same team behind daily fantasy football app Dribble, has raised just over $2.5 million in funding. The “strategic” investment is led by gaming-focussed venture firm Makers Fund.
Google buys triple-A game dev Typhoon Studio to beef up Stadia
Google’s Stadia cloud gaming division has acquired Typhoon Studio, a Montreal-based triple-A game development house. The move is part of Stadia’s plan to double down on internally produced talent to create exclusive content for the Stadia platform, which launched in November for early adopters.
Nine to Five Is a New Tactical FPS From Ex-Remedy and Wargaming Devs
Game-development veterans from studios like Wargaming (makers of World of Warships and more) and Remedy (whose most recent game, Control, just won IGN's 2019 Game of the Year award) have formed a new studio called Redhill Games. At The Game Awards, Red Hill announced its debut title Nine to Five, a new team-based tactical FPS.
Genvid Technologies raises $27 million for interactive streaming engine
Genvid Technologies has raised $27 million in funding for its interactive streaming engine. Galaxy Interactive, the division of merchant bank Galaxy Digital, led the round, bringing the startup’s total funding raised to $47 million. The New York-based Genvid‘s interactive streaming engine enables customers to monetize livestreams through sponsorships and in-stream purchases. Genvid CEO Jacob Navok said in an interview with GamesBeat that his company aims to make spectating games and esports on streams more interesting and interactive for players.
Dream Games raises $7.5M seed to develop ‘high-quality’ puzzle games
Dream Games, a Turkish mobile gaming company founded by former Peak Games employees who worked together on hit puzzle games Toy Blast and Toon Blast, has raised $7.5 million in seed funding. Leading the round is Makers Fund, with co-investment from London’s Balderton Capital. The funding will be used to increase headcount within the Dream Games team, targeting 20 employees in year one.
Two Hat raises $7.5 million to grow AI content moderation platform
Two Hat Security, a Canadian technology company that provides AI-powered content moderation solutions, today announced it has raised $7.5 million in a new funding round led by Tam Holdings, an investment firm based in San Francisco. Also participating in the round are Makers Fund, a venture capital firm dedicated to supporting founders in interactive entertainment, and Taubman Capital, a private equity investment firm for the Taubman family.
Unit 2 Games secures $5m investment from Makers Fund
Unit 2 Games has closed an investment deal that will see $5 million poured into the UK studio. The finance comes from Makers Fund, a venture capital firm that has already invested in multiple games companies, including Seed developer Klang and Redhill Games, a new studio founded by the former CEO of Remedy.
Makers Fund leads $1.95M investment in Atomontage
Atomontage has raised $1.95 million in seed funding for its microvoxel technology, which you use with 3D simulation and graphics rendering. The investors included Makers Fund; Karl Magnus Troedsson, the former CEO of EA DICE; Tommy Palm, the CEO of Resolution Games; and Hilmar Pétursson, the CEO of CCP.
Rune raises $2M to help you find new friends in mobile games, starting with Brawl Stars
Rune, a company out of Y Combinator’s Winter 2019 class, wants to use AI to help you find the right people to play with, connecting you via voice chat. And they’ve just closed a $2 million seed round to get it done. The round was led by the gaming-focused firm Makers Fund, and backed by byFounders, E14 Fund, VentureSouq and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit.
Minion Masters developer BetaDwarf raises $6.6 million for ‘friendshipping’ games
BetaDwarf has raised $6.6 million in funding to make more “friendshipping games” that go beyond the bonds formed in its previous hit titles such Forced and Minion Masters. Makers Fund led the funding, with participation from seed investor London Venture Partners and new investors 1UP and Everblue.
Drivetime nabs $11M from Makers Fund, Amazon and Google to build voice-based games for drivers
Fully autonomous cars may (or may not) be just around the corner, but in the meantime, a startup that’s building in-car apps to help human drivers pass the time when behind the wheel has raised a round of funding. Drivetime — which makes voice-based trivia quizzes, games and interactive stories that people can play while driving — has raised $11 million in funding led by Makers Fund (a prolific investor in gaming startups), with participation from Amazon (via the Alexa Fund) and Google (via its Assistant investment program).
Looking to become the video-based social network of the gaming world, Medal.tv raises $9 million
When Medal.tv first launched on the scene, the company was an upstart trying to be the social network for the gaming generation. Since its debut in February, the clipping and messaging service for gamers has amassed 5 million total users with hundreds of thousands of daily active users. And now it has a $9 million new investment from firms, led by Horizons Ventures, the venture capital fund established by Hong Kong multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing.
VRChat Partners with HTC and Makers Fund to Close $10m Series C
The VRChat team is excited to announce that we have closed a $10m Series C investment round. This latest financing includes new investor Makers Fund, alongside existing investors HTC, Brightstone VC and GFR Fund. We welcome Makers Fund and are proud to have them on board!
Klang raises $22.3 million for MMO space colony simulation Seed
Klang has raised $22.33 million in funding to develop a massively multiplayer online space colony simulation called Seed. The Berlin-based game studio is making a large-scale, persistent virtual world, hoping to redefine the MMO landscape. Novator Partners, a global technology and health care investment firm, led the funding. Lego Ventures, the investment entity of the Lego brand, joined current investors in the round. Northzone, Neoteny, Firstminute Capital, Makers Fund, and New Life Ventures joined in the round. To date, the company has raised $37.42 Million for the project.
PORTFOLIO
PEOPLE
![JAY CHI](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 450 250"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
JAY CHI
Global
Jay has worked in interactive entertainment for the last sixteen years as an industry advisory, focusing on helping early stage and large international firms with their strategies, investments and growth, working globally across Asia, North America, and Europe. A lifelong gamer and advocate for the industry, his passion is in supporting individuals and companies—large or small—who make positive contributions to the rapid growth of interactive entertainment.
MICHAEL CHEUNG
Europe
Michael spent the last decade helping companies grow and scale overseas in the Interactive Entertainment and consumer industries. An engineer at heart, he was a senior director at Tencent in China, where he led international live streaming. Before that he was a data scientist working with companies in the entertainment and consumer industries. In his earlier years, he cut his teeth in esports as a competitive Counter Strike player.
RYANN LAI
Americas
Ryann focuses on partnering with early-stage interactive entertainment companies in North America across all verticals. He works closely with portfolio founders, providing support tailored to their needs, from day-to-day operations to product strategy. A literal diehard gamer, Ryann has a history of hospitalization for gaming binges. In the rare moments when he is not staring at a screen, he can be found playing basketball or dozing on a plane.
RICHIE ZHU
Nordic & Asia
Born and raised in China, Richie hopes to bring more interactive entertainment companies to Chinese consumers and has a passion for cutting edge technologies. Before joining Makers Fund, Richie was at McKinsey where he worked on strategy and analytics for leading internet and high-tech companies in China. Richie is a trained physicist and lifelong gamer, with a special interest in strategy games.
ZEN CHAO
Japan & Asia
Chao has served the Tech and Media industry for the last 10 years; driven by his passion for creativity and innovation, he now dedicates most of his time in helping independent creators/developers around the world – from indies to AAA — realize their creative visions and grow their businesses. While Chao considers himself an “omnivorous” content consumer, he particularly enjoys carefully crafted interactive narratives.
ARCHIE STONEHILL
Europe
Archie focuses on finding and supporting founders from across Europe. A truly passionate gamer with a diverse set of gaming interests, he enjoys working closely with founders on product and go-to-market strategies. Before joining Makers, he worked at McKinsey's private equity practice, advising investors on companies in the technology and gaming industries. Born and raised in London, he spent the last few years in America before moving back home in 2019.
SOPHIA FENG
Global
Sophia leads our special projects and supports portfolio companies and LPs across the globe, with a particular interest in live streaming. Prior to Makers Fund, Sophia worked with US consumer tech companies on strategy. An avid consumer of compelling content across art, film, literature, gaming, and their intersections, she is passionate about championing their creators.
JOHN KIM
Americas & Korea
John focuses on identifying potential partnerships with interactive entertainment start ups in North America and South Korea. He works closely with the partners, supporting them with extensive due diligence and portfolio support. John is a true gaming fanatic. With particular interests in MMOs and competitive mobile, he is often unable to quit a game until he has reached #1 on the leaderboards.
ALLI ÓTTARSSON
VENTURE PARTNER
Americas and Europe
Originally from Iceland but currently operating on the west coast of North America, Alli engages with founders and supports portfolio companies across America and Europe. Alli spent his previous eighteen years deep in the trenches of PC online game development. He was part of the original team that shipped EVE Online and scaled up production for EVE and across CCP globally, before moving to Los Angeles to join Riot Games as the Development Director on League of Legends and later focused on production for Riot´s subsequent games.
MATTHEW BALL
VENTURE PARTNER
Americas and Europe
Matthew is Managing Partner of Epyllion Industries, an incubation & advisory firm based in NYC. Matthew was previously Head of Strategy for Amazon Studios, where he oversaw billions a year in content spending globally and the company’s use of data in decision making. Before then, he was a VC at the Chernin Group’s Otter Media, and an executive in Accenture Strategy’s TMT practice. Matthew is a contributor at The Economist and holds bylines at New York Times, Bloomberg and more.
RYAN PAYTON
ADVISOR
Global
Ryan is designer and founder of Camouflaj, a Seattle based game studio best known for the multiplatform hit, République. Ryan’s career in gaming began as a freelance writer for Ziff-Davis and WIRED magazine, which led him to join Konami in Tokyo. Upon shipping Metal Gear Solid 4, Ryan moved to Seattle to join Microsoft as creative director on Halo 4. In addition to Makers Fund, Ryan is an official advisor to Fumito Ueda (The Last Guardian), Yu Suzuki (Shenmue III), and Swery (The Good Life).
ALICE CHEUNG
Global
Alice is Makers’ office manager and executive assistant to Jay. She is the team’s first line of defense for all matters. In addition to managing Jay’s schedule, Alice also handles HR management and streamlines day to day operations. Alice hopes to foster an environment where everyone is happy to work with Makers.