Zoe Studios secures Angel investment to make chess more accessible

Zoe Studios has closed an angel investment round as it looks to build a new chess game on mobile for modern, casual audiences.

The developer secured investors including John Wright, Phil Mansell, Dilpesh Parmer, Simon Hade, Maxime Demeure, Juha Paananen and Carolin Krenzer, and others.

Zoe Studios was founded by former Playtika product management team leader Danielle Chen, who takes on the role of CEO, and ex-Playtika game economy and business analyst Itay Mashid, the developer’s CPO. The developer currently has a team of 14 staff.

The company’s goal is to build “the future of casual chess” by removing intimidation barriers and providing engaging and approachable gameplay. The funds will be used to accelerate the game’s development.

Zoe studios did not comment on the size of the investment round.

Speaking to PocketGamer.biz, Chen said the raise was not about just getting cash, it was about “smart money”.

“We wanted a group of experts who could genuinely support us to understand the vision and who are willing to have real skin in the game by investing,” she said.

After finalising the angel investment, Chen stated the company will be moving straight onto a VC round.

“Our ambition is clear, we are aiming to become one of the top 25 most played games worldwide.”

Accessible chess

Chen said that what struck her about the chess genre was there was no product on the market that could teach her the game of chess like Mashid had done for her. 

The studio’s CPO has played chess since he was five years old and played competitively during his youth, before going on to coach national champions, he claims.

“Many people are curious about chess and want to enjoy it casually, yet they have never found a product that truly speaks to them, and that is the heart of our vision,” said Chen. 

“If chess can be made, emotionally resonating and truly accessible through thoughtful game design, then it stops being only about strategy, it becomes about connection. It becomes a day's habit, it becomes a place where players feel a sense of belonging.

“That is the vision behind our product, to bring the intelligence of chess into a world that feels warm and fun.”

Gap in the market

Mashid said the chess marketing “is boiling” right now with “tonnes of daily active users” and  “tonnes of organic downloads”. “You have Chess.com and Duolingo with a massive amount of players.”

However, despite the competition of the world’s most popular chess app and learning platform Duolingo making moves in the space, Mashid is confident of Zoe Studios’ chances for success.

“The product is not out there yet, but when it is out, it will be very obvious why we are so different from anything else,” he said.

Mashid added that big companies had yet to challenge in the chess space because it was typically monetised through subscriptions or, in some cases, ads. But as a small startup, the team “loves high risks” and was willing to take on the challenge of building in-app purchases into the experience.

“We’re ex-Playtika, we know how to monetise, that’s not a problem for us,” he said, adding, however, that its main goal was to “bring value” to players.