(Bloomberg) — Griffin Gaming Partners says that it has closed a new $750 million venture fund.
The firm, based in Los Angeles and San Francisco, focuses exclusively on gaming-related investments and now has more than $1 billion in assets under management.
Griffin was founded by gaming industry veterans Peter Levin, Phil Sanderson and Nick Tuosto. LionTree, where Tuosto also works as an investment banker, is a strategic partner to the fund. Meg Whitman, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard Co. and EBay Inc., serves as an adviser to Griffin.
The firm invests in the infrastructure behind the gaming industry as well as social platforms, web3 and content. It has backed companies such as Discord Inc., AppLovin Corp., Forte and Overwolf.
Although some venture firms are cautious about investing in a hits-driven industry, Griffin’s leaders believe they have the experience to identify winners.
“We can predict whether a company will be successful” using data, Sanderson said. There’s an opportunity for more gaming-focused venture capitalists, he said, contrasting the niche to the more-saturated enterprise software market.
Unlike many venture firms, more than 40% of Griffin’s investment dollars are in women-founded businesses, according to the firm. Sanderson said he believes female founders are often better at creating mobile gaming that appeals to women. One of those is Spyke Games, where Rina Onur Sirinoglu is a co-founder and CEO.
While it’s unusual for an investor to also work as an investment banker, Tuosto said it’s a strategic advantage. As a managing director at LionTree, he said he hears about a lot of possible gaming deals and has industry connections that work in his favor.
When asked about potential conflicts of interest, he said, “We always make sure there’s full transparency.”
Tuosto worked on Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s acquisition of Zynga Inc., which was announced in January. He predicts that gaming-related acquisitions will continue to be active.
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