Agave Games, Creator of Find the Cat, secures $18M

A Turkish startup, Agave Games, known for its hit mobile game Find the Cat, has raised $18 million in Series A funding. The game, inspired by Where’s Wally-style puzzles, has players search for hidden cats in increasingly complex drawings. The funds will help Agave grow its team and develop at least two new games within the next year.

The casual mobile gaming market, including puzzle and farm-building games, remains highly profitable. Find the Cat has been a massive success, surpassing 10 million downloads just three months after its August release, with revenues of $10 million on Android alone, according to SensorTower. Investors see it as “the next Tripledot,” a successful casual game studio.

The funding round was co-led by Felix Capital and Balderton Capital, with participation from E2VC. All three firms were early investors, with Balderton also leading Agave’s seed round, which included Akin Babayigit, a co-founder of Tripledot Studios. Agave has now raised a total of $25.5 million, valuing the company at around $100 million.

Turkey has become a hotbed for gaming startups, beginning with Peak Games, acquired by Zynga for $1.8 billion in 2020. Agave’s CEO, Alper Oner, doesn’t directly come from Peak but returned to Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic after studying and working in the U.S. He joined forces with high school friends to create Agave, focusing on casual games due to their shared interests and industry potential.

Before Find the Cat, Agave developed Wonder Link, a modest success compared to their current hit. Their streamlined process includes using AI to create initial artwork, which is then refined by human designers. However, coding remains human-driven for now.

Agave’s polished approach has impressed investors like Rob Moffat of Balderton, who believes the studio has the potential to generate $100 million in annual revenue. He praised the team’s ability to create engaging games with unique mechanics and a high-quality finish.

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