CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tiv, a new payments platform dedicated to the gaming community, today launches out of stealth mode and announces the close of a $3.5 million series seed round of venture capital funding led by 4490 Ventures. Additional participants in the round include Silverton Partners and multiple prolific angel investors. The funding represents the first institutional capital raised after self-funding the company since inception.
Tiv will leverage the seed capital to scale its engineering and marketing teams as the Chicago headquartered startup builds out its platform. The company is currently accepting waitlist users for its debut card product ahead of a public launch slated for late 2021.
“We wanted to create a payments platform and offer card products that rewarded gamers based on their passion, not just how they spend,” said Tiv CEO and Co-Founder Jed Strong. “Tiv represents a fundamental shift, unlocking the power of gameplay to connect and enhance the digital and physical worlds of gamers. The entire gaming community can now reap the rewards of a fintech infrastructure purpose-built from the ground up for gamers.”
Building the Future of Personal Finance
Gaming is now the No. 1 form of entertainment in the United States, with approximately 164 million Americans over the age of 18 identifying as gamers. U.S. video game spending reached nearly $57 billion in 2020, more than a 25 percent increase year over year. Despite the depth and breadth of gaming as an industry, the gaming community has long been underserved by legacy financial institutions.
Tiv’s financial platform is built with the gaming community at its core, empowering gamers by making the time they spend doing what they love more valuable. Through proprietary technology, including machine learning capabilities, Tiv rewards gamers when they pay and when they play, making it the first and only payments product that gives its users rewards for both purchases and gaming activity. This allows gamers to further maximize the value of their spending using Tiv, no matter the category, by simply engaging in their passion for gaming.
Tiv’s founders also see benefits for the gaming industry, and the company is exploring partnerships with a variety of game publishers and studios. Its platform has the potential to offer a more robust picture of user behavior, the ability to promote the discovery of new games, as well as drive improved player engagement and retention with current titles—all creating the opportunity to increase conversion and purchase frequency.
“Historically, gamers have always been told that gaming is a waste of their time,” said JP Pillat, President, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Tiv. “As a lifelong gamer and longtime gaming creator, I experienced this first hand. Tiv’s mission is to change that, encouraging gamers to pursue their passion and making their gaming experience more rewarding in the process. We’re proud to build a product that enhances gamer’s lives and are thrilled to have our vision supported by our investors as well as one of the biggest brands in payments.”
Investor Perspectives on $3.5M Funding Round
“Tiv fits in perfectly with our connected software investment theme,” said Malcolm Thorne, Partner at 4490 Ventures. “The diversification of Tiv’s business model for both gamers and the broader gaming industry sets them apart from legacy financial institutions and neobanks. We are excited about the technology and the team and believe they have a head start to create the world’s leading payments platform for gamers.”
“Our due diligence on Tiv demonstrated their team had a clear understanding of the challenges of the market, and a plan to tackle those challenges head-on,” said Roger Chen, Partner at Silverton Partners. “Silverton is pleased to be a part of this journey, and we believe Tiv has the potential to disrupt the status quo and create a new normal for what a modern fintech looks like.”
About Tiv
Tiv is a payments platform built with the gaming community at the core. Headquartered in Chicago, Tiv is backed by institutional funding from 4490 Ventures and Silverton Partners. Tiv believes in creating financial products and services that reflect who you are and integrate what you do – not just what you spend – to reward you for spending time doing what you love. To learn more, visit www.tiv.co.
About 4490 Ventures
4490 Ventures invests in Connected Software companies. We are a team of investors, founders and operators with more than 100 years of combined experience who bring capital and a network of resources to help entrepreneurs build the next generation of tech companies. We are high conviction, high concentration early-stage investors focused on companies outside of Silicon Valley. For more information, visit 4490Ventures.com, or follow us on LinkedIn.
