Makers Fund has raised its third fund of $500 million to spend money on interactive leisure startups. Founding companion Jayson Chi advised TechCrunch that it now has over $1 billion in belongings beneath administration (AUM). The third fund is Maker’s largest fund after its $200 million fund raised in 2018 and a $260 million Fund II in 2020.
Makers Fund’s third fund will deal with early-stage funding, writing checks from $500K to $40 million, Chi stated, including that the median verify can be between $5 million and $10 million. The VC agency is dedicated to supporting founders for the long term and due to this fact reserves a big share of its fund for observe on investments, Chi famous.
Makers Fund launched its new car final summer season and accomplished the fundraise in two months, Chi stated in an interview. It has made greater than ten investments out of the third fund, together with Excessive and AudioMob. The agency is actively searching for funding alternatives globally throughout content material, together with VR, AR video games, and know-how that helps builders and publishers in interactive media. As well as, it’s concerned with investing in social networks, platforms and instruments for players and creators, he famous.
Co-founders of Makers Fund, Michael Cheung and Chi, noticed that a big share of innovation and valuation in interactive media comes from startups. Nonetheless, proficient creators in gaming shouldn’t have the identical funding or help as their counterparts like conventional know-how corporations within the trade, Chi stated. Makers wished to fill the hole and help these startups.
Its restricted companions embody the US-based endowments, foundations and establishments, in response to Chi, who didn’t present the names of LPs.
“We based Makers with the conviction that we had been getting into the golden age for interactive leisure, to vary the best way all of us take into consideration investing into the inventive medium and the way we help early-stage founders,” stated Michael Cheung, common companion of Makers Fund. “The trade has since catapulted from $100 billion in 2017 to $170 billion in 2021 as shopper adoption and engagement accelerates throughout all demographics and geographies. Our newest fund permits us to again founders all through their journey from product inception by to international scaling.”
Based in 2016, Makers Fund now has a complete of greater than 90 portfolio corporations, together with content material studios like Dream Video games and Avia Video games, know-how options similar to Parsec and Genvid and shopper platforms like Medal.television and VRChat.
Makers, which has a staff of 26, just lately employed expertise companion Garry Hill who beforehand labored at Activision Blizzard, Reddit and Paxo; principal Alli Ottarsson who beforehand led manufacturing on Eve On-line, League of Legends and Valorant; and principal Andrew Willson with expertise main gaming observe at McKinsey.
“The Makers Fund method is to be a companion for entrepreneurs constructing progressive video games, instruments and know-how that may outline the following era of interactive leisure,” stated Chi. “We deal with our investments as partnerships, offering founders with a deep help system and strategic steering from a community of advisors who’re equally passionate and dedicated to the gaming trade.”
It has workplaces in lots of international gaming and tech hubs, together with San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Reykjavik, London, Tokyo and Singapore.
