Augmented reality gaming startup Augmentors raised funding from Vinny Lingham on the South African Shark Tank television show last week, with the investment made in bitcoin.
Lingham, who has founded companies like Gyft and Civic and is an angel investor in a number of South African startups, is a bitcoin evangelist, has invested ZAR500,000 (US$35,000) in the startup.
However, in a twist, he said the developers of Augmentors were trying to solve a problem around “creating rarity”, and that this would be solved using blockchain technology.
Lingham thus made the investment in bitcoin – approximately 59 of them – in return for a 20 per cent stake in the company.
“I love gaining, AR and the team, and I think using the blockchain to create transferrable and unique in-game assets is really the future of gaming,” he told Disrupt Africa after the event.
