South African mobile gaming startup Carry1st has raised a seed funding round of US$2.5 million to help it add to its team, develop its tech, and publish new content.
Launched last year and based in Cape Town, Carry1st is a mobile games publisher serving the first generation of African smartphone users that has so far reached over 1.5 million users across the region.
The company plans to partner with international studios to launch multiple games in 2020 and scale its audience to over one million monthly active users, and with that in mind has banked US$2.5 million in seed funding to recruit top-tier talent, invest in platform technology, and publish new content.
The investment round, which takes Carry1st’s total investment to US$4 million, was led by CRE Venture Capital with participation from Perivoli Innovations, Chandaria Capital, Lateral Capital, Transsion’s Future Hub, and Kam Kronenberg III, among others.
“Social gaming is the largest and fastest-growing form of mobile media, grossing more than three times all other app categories combined. Our mission is to bring this world of interactive content to Africa and likewise to connect Africa to the world,” said Cordel Robbin-Coker, Carry1st chief executive officer (CEO).
“Our belief is that building a local publisher, with differentiated tech and operating capabilities across marketing, distribution, and monetisation is the way to be this bridge. We are pleased to partner with CRE and our investor group to accelerate this vision.”
