Toronto-based Helika has closed a $10.8-million CAD ($8 million USD) Series A round as it looks to expand its Web3 gaming analytics platform.
Helika says Yuga Labs, the studio behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT series, is one of its customers.
The oversubscribed equity round, which closed last week, was led by blockchain venture fund Pantera Capital with participation from returning investors Sparkle Ventures, Diagram Ventures, and Sfermion. Other participants include Marc Alloul, who is also W Investments managing partner; Damon Gura, CEO of Web3 gaming studio InfiniGods; and Spencer Tucker, Yuga Labs’ chief gaming officer.
Helika claims to have surpassed seven figures in revenue in under a year and has raised $12.5 million USD in funding to date.
“As the gaming world starts to evolve with the speed of AI and the power of Web3, Helika’s AI Game Engine will become a critical tool for every builder,” Pantera Capital partner Franklin Bi said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with the Helika team to lead their Series A, as they build the analytics and infrastructure that every great team in Web3 and Web2 will eventually need to drive user growth and engagement.”
Founded in 2022 by CEO Anton Umnov, CPO Lucas Fulks, and CTO Cori Crohman, Helika says its AI-powered suite of products aggregates data across chains, social media platforms, and games. Helika then synthesizes that data into actionable insights with the aim of improving player engagement, retention, and monetization.
RELATED: Web3 startup Helika closes $4 million seed round led by Diagram Ventures
Helika raised a $4 million CAD seed round led by Diagram Ventures in March 2023. At the time, Diagram’s head of crypto, Ken Nguyen, said the firm was drawn to Helika because of its “impressive customer traction within NFT communities and with large game studios in a short amount of time.”
Helika currently counts Web3 gaming studios such as Wildcard Alliance, WAGMI, Treasure, and Yuga Labs—the studio behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT series—among its customers.
Over the last year, the startup has been focused on releasing foundational analytics, attribution, and liveops products. Umnov said following the startup’s success in the United States and Europe, Helika is ready to continue developing AI-powered game management products and enter the Asia-Pacific market.
Feature image courtesy Pexels. Photo by Yan Krukau.