New York-based Scuti.ai has raised $10 million in funds to support developers’ initiatives to effectively monetise their games., using its AI platform to help retain players through rewards.
As an AI-based media and retail marketplace, Scuti.ai encourages companies to sell directly to gamers through its platform and in turn rewards those players for each purchase made.
The investment was led by "a prominent family office" as reported by GamesBeat, the name of which has not been disclosed, though San Francisco Giants’ Mario Alioto is confirmed to have joined Scuti.ai’s advisory board.
To play and to pay
Scuti.ai was founded by Nicholas Longano, formerly of Microsoft, Brash Entertainment, Massive Inc and Vivendi Universal Games, and having worked with dev teams from Blizzard to Valve to Universal Interactive.
With his games industry experience, Longano founded Scuti.ai and operates the company as CEO, joined by a team of fellow founders from Zynga, Epic Games, Microsoft Games Studio, EA and Blizzard.
The marketplace’s system grants players with interoperable rewards they can exchange for in-game currency or credits towards subsequent purchases through Scuti.ai, incentivising players to use the platform instead of making purchases in-game. From developers’ perspectives, this offers a way out of the infamously steep app store taxes, which has sparked a rise in individual web stores.
In its first year, Scuti.ai has already formed deals with more than 50 developers and publishers across over 100 titles. The current audience reach is 50 million monthly players.
"The landscape of game monetisation is evolving with changes in DMA, IDFA, and ATT rules. Traditional methods are no longer effective. AI platforms, like Scuti, empower game makers to monetise more efficiently while retaining players for extended periods," said Longano.
"Our lead investor shares our vision, recognising the immense untapped potential in this blue ocean opportunity. This investment is not just for our benefit but aims to enhance the experience for every game maker and player in our network."
Scuti also partnered with Consumable last year to bring non-intrusive audio ads to its marketplace, playing while users browse.
