Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz is investing $30 million in gaming startups in the next 45 days.
Andrew Chen is a general partner for a16z Games took to the social media platform X to share the funding announcement. Chen said the firm will invest the $30 million through its a16z Speedrun program and $750 will be allocated per startup. The deadline for applying for the funding is May 19 with those shortlisted will be notified at the end of July.
Gaming startups selected to join the Speedrun program will work closely with a16z and be exposed to investors and mentors, said Chen.
This is the third Speedrun program launched by a16z Games — described as an early-stage accelerator for startups at the intersection of Tech x Games.
BIG NEWS:
i’m investing $30M in the next 45 days via the a16z SPEEDRUN program 😎Yes, $750k per startup that joins the SPEEDRUN program plus obv it’ll be a great way to work together on something. So come work with me at a16z’s SPEEDRUN program — we’ll invest, work with you,…
— andrew chen (@andrewchen) April 1, 2024
According to the venture capita firm the 12-week program is “highly selective” with only 1% of applicants being accepted in its last cohort. The firm said 80% of start ups from the program’s first cohort secured funding from investors following demo.
Web3 Gaming is Growing
In 2024, web3 gaming is growing rapidly with the space attracting more VC investment. In 2023, it is estimated that the blockchain gaming related rounds reached $1.7 billion which is a significant part of that has flowed to the 270 blockchain games in development on Immutable.
Recently King River Capital, blockchain gaming firm Immutable and Polygon Labs announced they had teamed up to launch a $100 million gaming fund.
Last week, Web3 gaming platform Elixir Games raised $14 million in a seed funding round from Square Enix, the Solana Foundation and Shima Capital, and others. The funding will be used by Elixir Games to launch its native token “$ELIX” and its “Launchpad & Incubation Program” which go live later this year.
Web3 gaming firm Illuvium announced it had raised $12 million in a series A funding round with contributions from investors such as Australian venture capital firm King River Capital, Arrington Capital and Animoca Ventures.