Shima Capital backs PlayEmber's $2.3 million raise

Quick Take

  • Web3 gaming monetization platform PlayEmber has raised $2.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Shima Capital.
  • Other investors in the round include Big Brain Holdings, Warburg Serres and Huobi Ventures.

Web3 gaming monetization platform PlayEmber has raised $2.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Shima Capital. Investors in the round also include Big Brain Holdings, Hyperithm, Warburg Serres, Lyrik Ventures and Huobi Ventures, according to a company release.

PlayEmber aims to make it easier for gaming advertising dollars to transition from the web2 market to web3 through a Unity-based software development kit that implements a custom monetization solution.

The company's co-founders, Hugo Furneaux and Jon Hook, have previously worked with and for gaming companies — such as Voodoo, Lion Studios, Homa Games and BoomBit.

PlayEmber started out as a games and development publishing company, according to an interview with PocketGamer.biz. The platform will accelerate its growth by leveraging the existing games studio, the release notes. 

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"Given PlayEmber's combination of successful Web2 titles brought to the Web3 space, deep gaming expertise as the team builds out its SDK, and an exceptionally strong core management team, we see a very bright road ahead for PlayEmber and intend to support the team however we can as they build out this vision," said Yida Gao, managing general partner at Shima Capital.

The startup also received strong strategic support from the NEAR Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports the NEAR protocol ecosystem.

PlayEmber's beta product is already live. The company says the funds will be used to accelerate the growth of the team and the platform.


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About Author

Kari McMahon is a deals reporter at The Block covering startup fundraises, M&A, FinTech and the VC industry. Prior to joining The Block, Kari covered investing and crypto at Insider and worked as a python software developer for several years. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected]

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