THE FUTURE OF GAMING

 

As Pantera’s Head of Cryptoeconomics Matt Stephenson insightfully pointed out just months ago, Web3 gaming is, in fact, officially underhyped. Despite encountering some early challenges in incentive design, blockchain technology holds the promise of revolutionizing traditional gaming. Imagine dynamically evolving gameplay informed and led by market insights, or employing zero-knowledge proofs to enhance scalability and player privacy. We believe the future of gaming will play an important role in seamlessly onboarding users to Web3 and will lead the way for Web3 consumer apps to perfect the user experience. Let’s dive in.

 

Today, blockchain gaming leads the pack in active wallet interactions, significantly outperforming sectors like DeFi, NFTs, and social decentralized applications. And, if you’re following the money, in Q3 of 2023 alone blockchain gaming companies attracted $600 million in investments, totaling over $2.9 billion for 2023. 

 

As the sector matures, the demand for robust infrastructure and B2B tools supporting these gaming studios increases drastically. Drawing parallels with the traditional gaming world, we’ve seen how tools like AppLovin, App Annie, and ironSource were instrumental in scaling apps and games to millions of players. We believe Web3 gaming is currently in a similar developmental phase as Web2 and mobile gaming once were, currently lacking marketing and user acquisition and growth tools. So on the cusp of its major consumer breakthrough, blockchain gaming’s success hinges on a comprehensive data product suite that blends Web2 and Web3 elements.

 

The challenge? Current solutions either overlook the needs of Web3 gaming studios or focus narrowly on single aspects of the required data stack. 

 

WHY WE’RE INVESTING IN HELIKA

 

Helika is addressing this problem directly by offering a comprehensive array of on-chain and off-chain data tools essential for Web3 gaming studios looking to grow. From in-game analytics and referral attribution to user acquisition insights, live game optimization, and real-time A/B testing, Helika is the leading toolkit for developers and marketers looking to deliver optimal user experiences. In fact, some of the biggest names and brands in Web3 like Yuga Labs, Animoca Brands, Gala Games, TreasureDAO, Azra Games, Pudgy Penguins, Proof of Play and more are among the many that have already partnered with Helika to gain top-tier analytics and actionable growth insights from their platforms.

 

Leading Helika’s team is a group of seasoned veterans, each bringing along years of experience and a proven track record of success. 

 

• – Anton Umnov, Co-founder, and CEO: Anton is the driving force behind Helika’s strategic direction and growth. He has 15+ years of experience in product and analytics in the fintech & tech sectors scaling B2B SaaS platforms. He was able to monetize various SaaS analytics products effectively during his tenure as VP of Product & Partnerships at Drop and Head of Products & Partnerships at Nielsen.

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• – Lucas Fulks, Co-founder, and CPO: Lucas’ deep dive into data analytics, especially in the gaming sector, is highly relevant to Helika’s product development. His tenure as Senior Manager of Analytics at Artie, Manager of Gameplay Analytics at SciPlay, and Senior Data Analyst at Zynga has allowed him to gain a deep understanding of the gaming industry’s analytics needs. 

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• – Cori Grohman, Co-founder, and CTO: Cori has expertise in AI and ML and in building scalable data platforms. His diverse experience ranges from working as a Senior Software Engineer at Foundation Labs and an IoT Software Engineer at NASA, to a Machine Learning Engineer at Yonder and Software Engineer at Tesla. 

 

We’re excited to lead Helika’s Series A funding round with participation from Sfermion, Diagram Ventures, and Sparkle Ventures to build the future of crypto gaming.

 

Explore open positions at Helika here and find opportunities across the entire Pantera network here. Also, if you’re a gaming studio interested in elevating your data tooling, reach out to book a demo here.