Today’s
VC Industry Trends
looks into funding for
U.S.-based gaming startups.
All figures are based
on Crunchbase data and
all graphs are my own.
As evidenced by the Apple
vs. Epic Games
court battle
, gaming companies are
increasingly throwing their
weight around. Gaming is
clearly a new mainstay of
everyday life.
That statement pans out
when analyzing the
consistent investor
enthusiasm for gaming
startups.
-
Since 2015, gaming
startups in the U.S.
have raised somewhere
around 55 rounds, with
only two major
aberrations from that
figure in early 2019
and early 2020.
-
Meanwhile, the average
round for gaming
companies has
skyrocketed to almost
$120M, whereas it stood
at a mere $10M in
mid-2017.
VC funding for gaming
has shifted its focus
from earlier-stage
rounds to later-stage
funding in the last few
quarters.
-
Series A funding, for
example, has brought in
a similar dollar flow
for the entire viewed
period, with the
exception of a major
uptick in Q1’20.
-
In contrast, Series D+
funding expanded
rapidly in the last two
quarters to bring in
over $1B per quarter.
-
Seed funding has
continuously brought in
similar sums, attesting
to the ability of
smaller studios to find
investors willing to
bet on untested
companies.
While the total number
of rounds has
maintained a stable
level, the distribution
of the rounds has
changed.
-
After being supplanted
by pre-seed fundings,
seed rounds began
growing in frequency in
the last two quarters.
-
The number of both
Series C and Series D+
rounds has been
boosted, while Series B
rounds have become
rare.
-
Angel rounds, while
never prevalent, have
also all but
disappeared.
Series A funding rounds
have doubled in their
average size over the
last eight years.
-
The average seed round
has also doubled in the
same time frame.
One of the biggest
factors driving the
growth in the aggregate
average round is the
increase in post-IPO
funding.
-
Meanwhile, debt and
private equity (not
shown) make up a very
small part of this
funding landscape.
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Today’s Funding
Adtech/Martech
-
Breinify
(San Francisco,
Calif.), data-based
personalization for
non-technical marketing
strategies:
$11M
led by Gutbrain
Ventures, PBJ Capital,
participation from
Streamlined Ventures,
CXO Fund, Amino
Capital, Startup
Capital Ventures, et
al.
-
Pyn
(Australia),
personalized in-house
message platform:
$8M
Seed led by Andreessen
Horowitz, participation
from Accel, Ryan
Sanders.
Agtech
-
FarMart
(India), micro-SaaS
platform for food
distribution:
$2.4M
A from Omidyar Network
India, Avaana Capital.
Biotech/Health
-
binx health
(Boston, Mass.),
healthcare technology
and diagnostics:
$104M
E led by OrbiMed,
participation from
Arrowmark Partners,
Hildred Capital
Management, et al.
-
Ada Health
(Berlin, Germany),
symptom assessment
tech:
$90M
B led by Leaps by
Bayer.
-
GenapSys
(Redwood City, Calif.),
scalable electronic
sequencing platform:
$90M
D from Farallon Capital
Management, et al.
-
August Bioservices
(Nashville, Tenn.),
contract development
and manufacturing
organization for drug
discovery:
$23.6M
A led by Polaris
Partners, participation
from Oak HC/FT.
-
Octave
(San Francisco,
Calif.), behavioral
health platform:
$20M
B led by Health
Velocity Capital.
-
Pack4U
(Mountain View,
Calif.), personalized
medication delivery and
monitoring:
$20M
from undisclosed
sources.
-
Overture Life
(Madrid, Spain), embryo
testing methodologies
for IVF process
automation startup:
$15M
B led by Octopus
Ventures, participation
from GV, Khosla
Ventures, Felicis
Ventures, Marc Benioff.
-
Oisin
Biotechnologies
(Seattle, Wash.),
mitigation for the
effects of age-related
diseases:
$5M
Seed led by Althea
Group.
-
CorrActions
(Israel), noninvasive
neuroscience platform
to evaluate cognitive
states due to
drowsiness, alcohol,
fatigue:
$2.7M
Seed from
VentureIsrael, Operator
Partners, Israeli
Innovation Authority.
Blockchain
-
Fold
(San Francisco,
Calif.), bitcoin
rewards app:
$13M
A led by Craft
Ventures, participation
from M13, Slow
Ventures, Bessemer
Venture Partners.
-
Infinite Objects
(New York, N.Y.), NFT
art and collectibles
platform:
$6M
from Serena Ventures,
Betaworks, Brooklyn
Bridge Ventures, GFR
Fund, Kevin Durant
& Rich Kleiman,
Genies, et al.
Consumer
-
The Pro’s Closet
(Boulder, Colo.),
marketplace for
certified pre-owned
bikes, e-bikes, and
components:
$40M
B led by The Chernin
Group.
-
Poparazzi
(Marina Del Rey,
Calif.), photo-sharing
app:
$20M
A led by Benchmark.
-
Greg
(U.S.), AI-based home
plant care app:
$5.4M
led by First Round
Capital.
Cybersecurity
-
Sam Seamless
Networks
(Israel), network and
IoT device security:
$20M
B led by BlackBerry,
Verizon Ventures,
participation from
Blumberg Capital, Intel
Capital, ADT,
NightDragon.
DevOps
-
RevenueCat
(San Francisco,
Calif.), tools for
developers of
subscription-based
apps:
$40M
B led by Y Combinator’s
Continuity Fund,
participation from
Index Ventures, SaaStr,
Oakhouse, Adjacent,
FundersClub, et al.
Enterprise
-
7shifts
(Saskatoon, Canada), a
labor management
platform for
restaurants:
$21.5M
B led by Enlightened
Hospitality
Investments.
-
Filtered.ai
(Boston, Mass.),
engineering and
developer-focused
hiring service:
$7M
from Silicon Valley
Data Capital, AI Fund.
-
Vev
(Oslo, Norway),
interactive website
visual editor for
professional
developers, designers,
and other creatives:
$6M
led by EQT Ventures,
participation from
Sagene Tech Ventures,
Skyfall Ventures.
-
Orbiit
(San Francisco,
Calif.), online
interaction automation
platform:
$2.7M
Seed led by Bread and
Butter Ventures,
participation from High
Alpha Capital, LAUNCHub
Ventures, Company
Ventures.
-
Linq
(Birmingham, Ala.),
networking tech:
$2.5M
Seed led by Mucker
Capital, participation
from the Alabama
Futures Fund, et al.
Fintech
-
SeedBlink
(Bucharest, Romania),
investment platform:
$3.8M
A from undisclosed
sources.
Logistics
-
Arta
(New York, N.Y.),
logistics software and
fulfillment services
for high-value, goods
and collectibles:
$4.5M
from Corazon Capital,
Gaingels Ventures,
Flight.VC.
Proptech
-
Homeward
(Austin, Texas), home
buying platform:
$371M
B led by Norwest
Venture Partners.
-
QuintoAndar
(Brazil), real estate
marketplace focused on
rentals and sales:
$300M
E led by Ribbit
Capital, participation
from SoftBank’s
LatAm-focused
Innovation Fund, LTS,
Maverik, Alta Park.
Robotics
-
Airspace Link
(Detroit, Mi.), drone
safety platform:
$10M
A from Altos Ventures,
Thales, et al.
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