The Canadian Spin Master corporation, which deals with video games, physical toys and cartoons, also decided to open a fund for startups. She founded Spin Master Ventures for $100 million and has already announced the first deals. Among those who received the money are former developers of Candy Crush Saga.
Candy Crush Saga
Spin Master Ventures will invest in three strategic areas for the parent company: video games, physical toys and other entertainment. At first, only startups from North America and Europe will be able to receive investments from the fund, but later companies from other regions will be able to apply for them.
It is not yet known how much Spin Master Ventures is willing to invest in each company. But as a result of the deal, he will receive a minority stake in startups.
“The pace of innovation in the toy, entertainment and video game industries is rapidly accelerating. We want to gain access to concepts that can potentially change the rules of the game, and therefore we will make long—term investments in companies with promising ideas,” said Ronnen Harary, co-founder of Spin Master.
At the moment, Spin Master Ventures has announced two investments.
The fund invested in the Swedish studio Nørdlight Games, which was founded in 2019 by natives of King, including Simen Sandvaer, the first technical director of the Candy Crush Saga franchise. According to the terms of the deal, Nørdlight Games will help Spin Master with the implementation of a strategy to monetize video games.
The second investment is Hoot Reading, an online educational service for children. The terms of the deal with this company were not disclosed.
Spin Master was founded in 1994. The Canadian corporation is best known for the cartoons PAW Patrol and Mighty Express. She also owns the Toca Boca video game studio and the rights to produce League of Legends toys.