In a Series A extension funding bout, Carry1st, one of Africa’s leading mobile game publishers, raised a total of $20 million. This extension was led by Andreessen Horowitz and included some participation from Avenir and Google.
This is Andreesson Horrowitz’s first time investing in a company headquartered in Africa. In addition, the funding attracted a range of big-name angel investors, including Grammy winner and prominent crypto investor Nas. Some familiar faces – investors from Carry1st’s May 2021 Series A round – including Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine Ventures, and TTV Capital are backing the company again.
“We’re excited to partner with this world-class group of investors who, in addition to capital, bring expertise across gaming, fintech, and web3,” says Cordel Robbin-Coker, co-founder and CEO of Carry1st.
“In 2021 we launched multiple games and digital commerce solutions achieving really strong growth. Together we can accelerate this growth and achieve our goal of becoming the leading consumer internet company in the region.”
Make mobile games great again?
The company saw a massive 96% per month revenue growth in recent months. Following the massive cash injection, Carry1st plans to expand on its content portfolio, investing in product, engineering and growth teams. According to a press release, the company plans to attract tens of millions of new customers using its newfound funds.
“Notably, Carry1st is expanding into game co-development, working with leading game studios on original concepts, and developing the infrastructure to support play-to-earn gaming,” the press release details.
Africa is seeing major growth in mobile gaming as a market. According to research conducted by Newzoo and Carry1st, “… the number of gamers in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to increase by 275% over 10 years, leading to a 728% increase in revenue.”