Nations Ventures, a venture capital fund majority-owned by We Are Nations, has invested in social platform startup Smerf.
The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, though the capital will be used to help Smerf “in its goal of building an innovative social platform” for gamers.
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Smerf will use the resources to bolster its technological capabilities, enabling more titles to be added to the portfolio of games that it serves. It’s aiming to help users find and create communities of like-minded gamers.
Patrick Mahoney, CEO of We Are Nations, spoke on the decision in a release: “We Are Nations started as and continues to operate as a merchandise company, and the actual sale of merchandise is a reflection of the community and the story that the merchandise represents. Investing in Smerf – a company that is helping create these communities – is exactly where we want the fund to operate.”
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Nations Ventures was launched on May 25th as a fund for early-stage companies that don’t compete with the core business of merchandising and retail company We Are Nations. The venture aims to “provide opportunities for collaboration, product and marketing enhancement and other economies of scale.”
Zachary DeFord, Founder and CEO of Smerf, added: “We are so excited to receive our first investment from Nations Ventures. They are the perfect fit for us. Beyond Dan Cardell and the rest of the team having deep relationships in the esports space, we all share the same vision: to change the landscape of multiplayer gaming by forming the close-knit and respectful communities that we’ve all wanted.”
Esports Insider says: It’ll be interesting to see how Smerf develops with this support from Nations Ventures, especially considering it’s the first investment from the fund to be announced. On a surface level, the company sounds similar in approach to eFuse so we’re intrigued to see how it differentiates itself.