Nas and Google are among those who have ploughed a $20m investment in African mobile games publisher Carry1st.
The company raised funds in their first round of financing thanks to investors such as the legendary rapper, Google, Riot Games, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Last month, the African firm revealed a 96% increase in revenue, which alerted the market.
“We’re excited to partner with this world-class group of investors who, in addition to capital, bring expertise across gaming, fintech, and web3,” Carry1st co-founder and CEO Cordel Robbin-Coker said in a statement.
He continued, “In 2021, we launched multiple games and digital commerce solutions achieving really strong growth. Together we can accelerate this growth and achieve our goal of becoming the leading consumer internet company in the region.”
Carry1st plans to use the recently accrued finances to help grow their content portfolio and hope they will gain tens of millions of new users. They are also plotting a pivot into game co-development.
Nas founded QueensBridge Venture Partners in 2014, and he’s invested in businesses that have grown to become household names such as Dropbox, Lyft, Robinhood and Coinbase. He also became the co-owner of Escobar Cigars in August.
Speaking to Fast Company in 2014, he said, “When I heard the word ‘investment’ in school, I was hooked. You invest your time, you can invest money and it was just a matter of time before it all fell into place for me.
“That’s one of the things that I thought a lot about as a young kid—the guys behind the scenes who make things happen, help build people up, make dreams come true.”
