Berlin social gaming company SLAY has raised a $5 million Seed funding round.
SLAY’s mission is to build positive social gaming experiences and has released several successful gaming titles and apps designed to foster positive social interactions, such as frfr, the AI voice messaging app for Instagram stories and the first AI social product to top charts worldwide.
SLAY’s games and apps have been well-received, collectively attracting more than 2.5 million monthly active users, 650k daily active users, and over 10 million downloads. SLAY’s revenues in 2024 to date are already 10x 2023’s revenues.
Pengu, SLAY’s most successful title, is a virtual pet app where users raise their own digital penguin, play engaging mini-games, and connect and socialise with friends and family by “co-parenting” Pengus together or using tools to communicate with other Pengus. Since its launch at the end of 2023, it has had more than 500k daily active users and close to 100k ratings in the App Store.
The company now provides a developer platform where users – and commercial studios – can create their content and worlds in Pengu. Pengu has already seen significant interest from developers, with several games created and integrated into the ecosystem and ongoing negotiations with other developers and studios.
Fabian Kamberi, SLAY’s co-founder and CEO, said:
“We believe in a social gaming ecosystem where great products bring people joy while encouraging authentic connections with friends and family.
Distribution is the hardest problem in games right now and only happens if you build a shareable platform that facilitates product-led growth.
We’ve identified a scalable playbook through Pengu, the perfect place to maximise your creativity and imagination, and have been delighted with the virality and organic growth it’s achieved.”
Accel led the funding, which was also participated in by Laton VC, HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun, King Co-Founder Riccardo Zacconi, Popcore Co-Founder Johannes Heinze, Supercell Co-Founder and CEO Ilkka Paananen, and Tripledot Co-Founder and CEO Lior Shiff.
Luca Bocchio, Partner at Accel, added:
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with the talented team at SLAY as it looks to expand and strengthen its existing ecosystem and IP.
As gaming expands its hold on entertainment and popular culture, the way consumers interact with the medium becomes inherently more social, expanding the market opportunity significantly.”
SLAY will use the funding to build an immersive social gaming platform for its highly engaged users and developers, allowing them to create their own content and engage more deeply with the virtual pet game Pengu.
Lead image: SLAY. Photo: uncredited.
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