MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AviaGames, a mobile, skill-based gaming company, today announced $40 million funding from investors including ACME Capital, Washington Harbour Partners and Powerhouse Capital. Previous investors including Makers Fund and Galaxy Digital also participated in the round. The new capital will be used to accelerate player acquisition, develop new games on the platform, and expand its team and international presence. Hany Nada, co-founder of ACME Capital, has joined AviaGames’ board of directors.
AviaGames developed and published the Pocket7Games gaming platform in 2019 with the vision of creating a top global game competition platform that's easy for everyone to play and win cash prizes. Pocket7Games is a unified gaming platform with an all-in-one app as well as a specific game app tailored to specific player communities. The platform features 10+ unique games linked to a single membership and wallet system, allowing players to switch among casino, puzzle, action, card, math and brain games seamlessly. Just 18 months after going live, the platform has achieved substantial growth milestones, including:
- Bingo Clash: win real cash has been the #1 free casino game in the Apple App Store for the last 4 months, and consistently ranked as top 5 among all free games;
- More than 100 million tournaments are hosted monthly;
- More than $400 million in prize money has been distributed in the United States alone
“The majority of competitive games today cater to male audiences and core gamers, and almost all casual games on the market are designed for players to play against AI,” said Vickie Chen, founder and CEO of AviaGames. “We know the gaming universe is much broader than that. We aim to provide entertainment value for everyone to enjoy a couple minutes a day to compete with other real players with a more accessible, easy in, easy out approach. Regardless of gender or gaming experience, we’re matching people with similar skill sets to engage in friendly competition and get paid for their winning results.”
Opportunity & Growth
According to market research firm GlobalData, mobile gaming is expected to reach $272 billion by 2021. AviaGames saw massive adoption during the pandemic as consumers sought entertainment and fun ways to connect with other people. As players were drawn to the skill-based tournament structure and the ability to compete and win cash prizes, Pocket7Games GMV run rate grew 21x to $836 million since January 2020, with players spending an average of 40 minutes on the platform each day.
How it Works
Pocket7Games assigns every player a “skill value,” or gaming capability. AI is used to accurately match players with similar skill value levels to compete against each other, creating an equal opportunity for each player to win when they compete in the same level of the same game. Combining state-of-the-art anti-fraud and anti-cheating technology, including full screen recording, the platform provides a fair and safe environment to enrich the player experience.
Unlike other similar, competitive products in the market, Pocket7Games also caters to everyday casual players and offers a diverse range of free games, including tournaments and mini-games, to win cash prizes. These free benefits are as much as 2X higher than any other competitor’s product.
AviaGames offers multiple player competition modes. The recently added “one vs. many” feature allows players to compete against up to three different people in Bingo Clash: win real cash, creating the ability for players to double or triple their reward potential. Players determine whether they play free games or cash tournaments and the tier they would like to enter, paying an entrance fee as low as $0.60 for the cash tournaments.
“Vickie and Ping have incredible gaming experience, are in tune with what consumers want and are creating compelling, interactive games that get people from a wide range of demographics engaged and coming back for more. They’re making gaming what it should be: fun, competitive and engaging,” said Hany Nada, co-founder of ACME Capital. “They have created an inclusive gaming environment with a focus on long term player engagement.”
Founded in 2017 by Vickie Chen and Ping Wang, AviaGames today has more than 90 employees. As the company looks to expand beyond the U.S., it is actively hiring engineers and data scientists, expecting to reach 130 employees by the end of the year.
About AviaGames
AviaGames is a mobile, skill-based gaming company and publisher of Pocket7Games, a unified gaming platform tailored to specific player communities. The platform features 10+ unique games linked to a single membership and wallet system, allowing players to seamlessly switch among casino, puzzle, action, card, math and brain games. Founded by Vickie Chen and Ping Wang in 2017, AviaGames is committed to providing an inclusive competition platform where everyone can play, make money and have fun.
About ACME Capital
ACME is a San Francisco based early-stage venture capital firm investing in breakthrough enabling technologies and business model innovations disrupting massive sectors. We partner with entrepreneurs around the world who work with significant technologies making a positive impact for the consumers of the future. For more information, go to: https://www.acme.vc
