California-based Blast, a gamification platform designed to encourage gamers to save and earn money, has closed its seed round on $12m.
With the injection of an additional $7m and an initial tranche of $5m raised earlier in the year, Blast has closed the seed on $12m. In tandem with this funding close, the company has launched its app on the Google Play Store providing support of Android phone users. All games on the Google Play store are supported through Blast.
Investors in the latest seed injection included personal growth entrepreneur Tony Robbins, Palo Alto-based FinTech fund CreditEase, and influencer-focused VC fund RX3.
In the initial phase of funding, contributions came from the Forbes and Roth families, Core Innovation Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Snowmass Private Equity, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, among others.
Moreover, Zynga, Pocket Gems, and Disruptor Beam have teamed with Blast to create custom ways for players to micro-earn and save money.
The free-to-use platform helps gamers to save money in their Blast wallet through ‘trigger savings’ which can be increased through interest paid on balances, dividends from ‘missions’, and weekly leaderboard payouts.
‘Trigger savings’ are made through a gamer setting goals, such as the number of enemies defeated, turrets destroyed or matches won, in PC games such as Candy Crush, a mobile match-three images puzzler, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, an online first-person shooter. The platform aims to encourage gamers to make savings, but the platform will support the automatic saving and winning of money, across a range of mobile games, according to the company.
Blast accumulates money in an FDIC-insured account earning 1 per cent APY, alongside any dividends earned through ‘missions’. A mission allows a gamer to test a new game or playing their favourite games at higher levels. Money is also earned through a weekly leaderboard payout, where gamers are ranked on the number of missions completed. Around $10,000 will be distributed to the top 25 per cent of all users in the leaderboard each week, with top place earning $1,000.
When the balance grows, the user can let them continue to rise, use the money for in-app-purchases in video games, invest it or withdraw it. The app works in the background to ensure there are no distractions while playing, and there is a waitlist for games on iOS and Steam which will be supported later.
Blast co-founder and CEO Walter Cruttenden said, “It’s tough for most people to save money, so we created Blast to help people start accumulating wealth simply by doing what they already enjoy – playing their favorite games.
“Blast takes something hard or boring – like saving money – and makes it fun and easy through gaming. The app is simple to use for both avid and casual gamers and adds a new dynamic that can make games more interesting. Gamers tell us they feel better with the time they spend gaming when they know they are micro-saving or micro-earning in the background.”
With the new injection of capital, the company will look to accelerate its growth through its early marketing phase.
Copyright © 2018 FinTech Global
