Under the radar blockchain startup Iskra confirmed that it has secured a massive $34 million investment by investment arms of Korean online tech giant Kakao.
Future of Play
Iskra identifies itself as Future of Play, a blockchain-based Web3 gaming platform that aims to connect players, developers and investors to bring about a revolution in the gaming sector of Asia. While the platform has been low key in terms of market recognition, its team of developers and professionals have been working hard behind the scene to build an expansive B2B relationship with industry leaders.
The recent announcement of securing a $34 million investment in the project is the first step of the grand plan to build a holistic community of Web3 and gaming. The investment round was led by Krust Universe, the investment arm of Korean tech giant Kakao. Other notable investors include other tech and gaming notables like NKN Bigfoot, MetaBora, WeMade, Fast Ventures, Liberty Investments and Kakao Ventures.
On the occasion, Chief Investment Officer of Krust Universe, Junghoon Kim explained the reason behind the stealth investment,
“Iskra is a seasoned team that can combine the best of blockchain and games. During our incubation, the team successfully built a model that incentivizes various stakeholders in the community.” … “Iskra is well aligned with the 2.0 strategy of Klaytn, a Krust portfolio, in which Klaytn becomes a blockchain of choice for GameFi and metaverse.”
The CEO and Founder of Iskra, Eugene Lee, explained why the platform was selected and also how it would go about using the funds to benefit the next-gen web3 games,
“We are excited that Krust, WeMade, and the rest of our investors trust my team and I to execute on our vision of a community-forward system that aligns interests by rewarding its stakeholders based on participation, while integrating sustainable tokenomic solutions for game developers to the platform. This investment will not only bring capital, but also their domain expertise and network to help expand the reach of Iskra’s platform.”
Coming with a Bang
The relatively quiet and under wraps incubation may catch some in the industry by surprise, especially given the large sum of investment made by the backers. However, this is by design. Iskra is a startup, but the team behind it is made up of veterans and professionals in the industry.
Team members include people who have worked previously in the most successful blockchain and tech stories in South Korea, including Icon Loop and Line. Other notable members of the core team have a history of developing high profile tech platforms such as Tencent and Dayli Financial.
With the potential to be the next gaming revolutionary platform and the subsequent backing by major investors and industry players, Iskra is in a unique position to become the Gala or Forte of Asia.
Connecting Industry and Consumers
Iskra believes that gaming and blockchain are going to be the default in the future. While a significant shift from developers has been towards GameFi, the platform still sees a major gap in web3 adoption, and a disconnection between developers, gamers and backers.
Iskra will be using the funds to develop and promote the use of its services through its game community platform. Using its ISK token, it will not only reward stakeholders for their active participation but also allow traditional game developers to integrate crypto powered tokenomics into their system with a ready to use solution.
