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Futurefly bags $2.5 million seed funding from Facebook, Snapchat, Whatsapp investors

Finnish startup gets big bucks, and big experience

Date Type Companies involved Size
September 11th, 2015 investment Futurefly
Vision plus
$2.5m
Futurefly bags $2.5 million seed funding from Facebook, Snapchat, Whatsapp investors

Futurefly has just scored a $2.5 million cash injection after former investors in Snapchat, Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook saw potential in the entertainment startup.

Finnish VC firm Visionplus led the round, which is being kept temporarily open to potential investors with links to brands, celebrities or IPs who can help Futurefly in its user acquisition strategy.

Window of opportunity

Based in Helsinki, Futurefly was formed in May this year by ex-Remedy, EA, Sulake, and Grey Area veterans. Having hired consumer-app and film animation experts, the 9-person company aims to implement gameplay mechanics into traditional non-game consumer apps.

With this in mind, its first project is a mobile game messenger app in the same vein as WhatsApp and WeChat that will also include gaming features.

“The plumbing works much like other messengers out there, however we use game development tools to bring beautiful 3D avatars, games and top class animations to the messaging experience. We are breaking down the walls of self-expression in messaging, if emoji was a first step in that direction, then we are taking a giant leap”, said Oskari “Ozz” Häkkinen, Founder & CPO at Futurefly.

In a statement Futurefly said that while the “financial muscle” of investors is welcome, this seed round is more about leveraging the experiences of prestigious investors who have worked with social media giants.


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