Laton Ventures launches $35M global gaming venture capital fund

Laton Ventures, a new gaming venture capital fund, is launching today with $35 million in money to invest in game companies.

The creation of this Turkiye-based fund during the current weak state of the gaming industry may be a comfort those who are worried about all the layoffs in the industry. This shows that at least one group of investors and their limited partners are confident about gaming’s future.

The firm promises to keep a keen eye on the evolving landscape of gaming and interactive entertainment, and to focus on Turkey’s rising status as a global hub in these dynamic industries.

Laton Ventures wants to become the vital link connecting Turkish and global gaming ecosystems by investing not only in Turkey but also globally, said founding partner Görkem Türk, in an interview with GamesBeat.

“We’re going to be quite agnostic toward the content category. We will invest in mobile, PC and console. Our background is coming from mobile. So we will always acknowledge that. We will be investing in everything, but probably we will lean towards mobile content much more. We will also be investing in non -content as well like infrastructure and tech around gaming.”

Laton Ventures places a strong emphasis on providing operational advisory to its portfolio companies in fields like user acquisition, game design, development and analytics. In addition to the fund team who has hands-on experience in these fields, the fund will also leverage its industry-veteran advisor team and extensive network in supporting portfolio companies.

Laton’s strategy is to be a daily ally for its portfolio founders. This approach does not only reduce execution risks, but also enables Laton to have the status of a partner-of-choice among founders as well as fellow investors. Laton has already seen its unique model facilitate access to highly competitive deals.

With a focus on pre-seed and seed stages, the fund will seek out startups of industry-leading talent with an unparalleled vision, robust execution capabilities and hunger for success that have the potential to scale into massive companies. In its investment strategy, Laton will be agnostic towards different gaming platforms as well as content and services, although acknowledging the fund team’s strong background in mobile gaming.

“Laton is experiencing a very robust deal flow, demonstrating the effectiveness of our unique operational advisory model as well as the positioning as a bridge between the Turkish and global gaming ecosystems,” Türk said.

The fund has already invested in five companies in the past six months: two in Turkey, two in Europe and one in the U.S. Notably, the most of these deals were highly competitive where even globally leading funds did not manage to secure allocations. This success in securing allocations in sought-after deals and co-investing alongside some of the best funds of the world is a testament to Laton’s approach and reputation.

Laton brought together highflyers of the gaming industry with proven track records as well as seasoned investors. The fund is founded and led by Görkem Türk, the former gaming and startups industry manager at Google. His expertise in partnering gaming founders and extensive industry network are pivotal to Laton’s mission.

Accompanying Görkem, Laton has a strong investment team that brings a diverse experience from companies such as Peak Games and Boston Consulting Group. Laton is backed by over 20 prominent figures in gaming and technology industries including Mehmet Ecevit, Co-Founder of Gram Games; Mert Gür, Founder of Loop Games; Mert Can Kurum, Founder of Ruby Games; Fırat İleri, Managing Partner of Hummingbird Ventures; Nevzat Aydın, Founder of Yemeksepeti and Eric Kress, Founder of Gossamer.

While some of these names support Laton’s portfolio companies as advisors, some solely position as investors in the fund.

Supercell, creator of games like Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, has also invested in Laton Ventures.

In addition, the fund has secured investment from major financial institutions including 100th Year venture capital arm of İşBank (Turkey’s largest private bank).

Türk said, “As the brightest talent continues to flock to the gaming industry and with the player numbers globally reaching an all-time high, we stand at the beginning of a new era for entertainment experiences. As Laton, we are on a mission to support the best teams looking to tap this exciting opportunity ahead with innovative approaches and unparalleled execution.”

The firm has four full-time people, and Türk is the sole partner, as founding partner.

Origins

Asked about the inspiration to start the fund, Türk said that there is a great deal of talent available in the game industry, not only in Turkiye, but also everywhere else.

“The second inspiration point, personally is that I have been working with gaming founders for the past five years, teaming with more than 50 gaming founders. I love the personality and mindset, just witnessing and partnering, creating great companies from baby startups. I love experiencing that journey alongside these people. So that’s the personal inspiration.”

On top of that, he said the number of players is marching toward new all-time highs, which more than 2.5 billion people playing games in the world.

“I love seeing it become a global single community,” he said.

He said that the deals done so far reflect how the company will be watching Turkiye as well as other regions around the world.

Türk worked at Google in Turkiye for 6.5 years. He left in October and started working on the fund.

As for the timing, he said, “I’m super excited to say because of multiple reasons. So far there isn’t any Turkiye-based firm that acts like a bridge between the Turkish gaming ecosystem and the international gaming ecosystem. It’s been waiting for this for a long time to keep such a vibrant ecosystem moving.”

He also said that these are challenging times for startups in games, and they need guidance on strategies for user acquisition, game design, and so on.

“This is where gaming studios need support the most,” he said.

And he said he is optimistic about the future of the industry because there are so many clear opportunities in gaming.

Given the downturn, Türk believes that valuations for startups are in a much more healthy place now, compared to a period when they were over-valued in the past.