Azra Games $15 Million Raise Led by A16z & NFX

• Blockchain gaming firm Azra Games raised $15 million in a seed round led by a16z & NFX.
• The startup is founded by gaming veteran Mark Otero and entrepreneurs Sonny Mayugba and Travis Boudreaux.
• Check out the 19-slide pitch deck used to raise funds from investors including Coinbase Ventures.

Legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz officially announced their new gaming venture fund only days ago.

The $600 million fund focuses exclusively on gaming startups and is led by three general partners — Andrew Chen, Jonathan Lai, and James Gwertzman, who joined the firm in November from Microsoft’s gaming division.

One of the first companies to make the cut into a16z’s new portfolio is Azra Games, a blockchain company that’s just raised $15 million in a seed round led by a16z through its gaming and crypto fund, and NFX.

Azra Games focuses on building collectible and combat role-playing games for Web 3.0 and is founded by veteran games designer Mark Otero, who is best known for “Electronic Arts’ Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes”, and entrepreneurs Sonny Mayugba and Travis Boudreaux.

“Imagine role playing giant monsters, robots and creatures, and leading your favorite heroes and villains to battle – and on top of satisfying game sessions, a vibrant marketplace and a sustainable economy based on real value that only web3 can unlock to deliver the most compelling and complete play experience,” Otero said in a press release.

The seed funding will be used to accelerate the development of Azra’s first game, a sci-fi collectibles and mass combat roleplaying game which is code-named Project Arcanas.

“CEO Mark Otero is a seasoned game director who was at the forefront of mobile free-to-play games with the hit franchise Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes,” said Jonathan Lai, a a16z general partner  in a press release. “We’re excited to partner with Mark and the Azra team as they apply their expertise to web3 games in creating new types of gameplay and economy design.” 

Other investors in the round include Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton as well as a number of leaders in the crypto space, such as Yield Guild Game’s co-founder Gabby Dizon,

Twitch

co-founder Justin Kan and Dapper Labs co-founder Roham Gharegozlou.

“We are incredibly impressed by what the team is building,” said Gigi Levy Weiss, a NFX general partner in the press release. “I believe Azra will be the leader in blending amazing gameplay with digital ownership, offering ultimate value and entertainment to players.”

Check out the 19-slide pitch deck used to raise the funds.