Nas has joined a group of investors establishing a $20 million financial backing for a mobile games company. The Hollywood Reporter reported the rapper as well as Google, and Riot Games have signed on to invest in African-based mobile game publisher Carry 1st. The investment is led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Partners David Haber and Jonathan Lai will join the board of the company.
Sky Mavis, Yield Guild Games, Chipper Cash, and the investment firm Avenir also participated in the financial move.
“We are delighted to be making our first investment in an Africa-headquartered company in Carry1st, a next-generation mobile games and fintech platform. We see immense opportunity for the company to mirror outstanding successes we’ve seen in markets like India, China and Southeast Asia,” said Andreessen Horowitz.
Carry 1st was founded by Robbin-Coker, COO Lucy Hoffman, and chief technology officer Tinotenda Mundangepfupfu. Its games also include Mine Rescue, Match League, SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off, and Football Clash.
“We’re excited to partner with this world-class group of investors who, in addition to capital, bring expertise across gaming, fintech, and web3,” said Robbin-Coker. “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.”
According to a company statement, Carry 1st will use the funding to “expand its content portfolio, grow its product, engineering and growth teams, and acquire tens of millions of new users.”