What Transcend. does

Transcend is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2020 and headquartered in San Francisco, with a six-person core team distributed across offices in London, Los Angeles, and Zurich. The firm invests exclusively at the intersection of games and AI, deploying capital from pre-seed through Series A into AI-native game studios, AI-powered developer tools, and emerging interactive entertainment platforms. The team is led by three Managing Directors — Shanti Bergel (founding partner, 30-35 year industry veteran based in London), Andrew Sheppard (ex-President of Studios at Kabam where he scaled the business to $400M revenue and a $1B+ exit), and Brett Krause (former President of JPMorgan China and CIO of FunPlus) — supported by two Principals with backgrounds in M&A advisory, consulting, and corporate development at Activision Blizzard and Newzoo.

Transcend operates two disclosed seed funds: Fund I ($50M, April 2020) and Fund II (~$60M, November 2023), with Fund III now in market as evidenced by the Japan regulatory filing for Transcend GP-GP III, LLC. Per Pitchbook, Fund I ranks in the top IRR decile for 2020 vintage venture funds. The portfolio spans roughly 30 disclosed investments including thatgamecompany, Gardens ($31.3M Series A), Ruckus Games ($19M Series A co-led with KRAFTON), welevel ($8.5M Series A), Kinoa ($10M), Brain Jar Games (Dead as Disco, 1M+ Steam wishlists), Live Aware Labs, Eggscape, Midsummer Studios, Stress Level Zero, Methodical Games, Roboto Games, and Cosmic Lounge. Notable exit: Singularity 6 was acquired by Niko Partners.

The firm's revenue model is conventional VC economics: management fees on committed and invested capital across successive funds, plus carried interest realized through exits. Distribution relies on warm introductions, conference presence (GDC, D.I.C.E., GamesBeat), thought-leadership publishing, and a global referral network rather than outbound sales. Portfolio companies are sourced from founders across more than 16 countries spanning North America, EMEA, Asia (Korea, China, India, Vietnam, Singapore), MENA, and LATAM, with the firm's stated market thesis anchored to a $263B global gaming industry projected to reach $353B by 2030.

Name

Transcend.

Legal name

Transcend Fund

Website

https://transcend.fund

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Transcend is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests pre-seed through Series A in AI-native game studios and interactive entertainment companies, operating two seed funds totaling approximately $110M across San Francisco, London, Los Angeles, and Zurich.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Private Equity (Games and AI focus)

akta.pro primary industry

Roll-Up / Buy-and-Build ETA (FSANALAF)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Early-stage gaming investments
• AI-native game studios
• Interactive entertainment investing
• Seed stage funding

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Transcend generates returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies. The firm takes ownership stakes in early-stage gaming and AI companies, with returns realized through exit events such as acquisitions, IPOs, or secondary sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Transcend is an early-stage venture capital firm that deploys dedicated seed and Series A funds into game studios, interactive entertainment companies, and AI-native gaming infrastructure startups. The firm provides capital, operational expertise, strategic guidance, board participation, and access to a global gaming network to founders from pre-seed through Series A stages.

Product overview

Transcend is a top-quartile early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on investing in AI-native entrepreneurs building the next generation of interactive entertainment at the intersection of Games and AI. Founded in 2020 by game industry veterans with 70+ years of combined operator experience and $10B+ in lifetime revenue, Transcend operates two seed funds (Fund I at ~$50M, Fund II at ~$60M) and has backed a portfolio of companies spanning AI-native game studios, AI-powered developer tools, and emerging gaming platforms. The core 'product' is venture capital deployment — providing funding, operational expertise, and strategic support from pre-seed through Series A. The portfolio includes the Kinoa AI operating system for mobile live ops, the Dead as Disco rhythm-action brawler, SolidRiver by welevel (AI-native survival city-builder), Live Aware Labs (AI-powered developer feedback), Eggscape (mixed reality gaming), Fun Country (AI-powered poker skill platform), and Ruckus Games (AAA co-op shooter The Holdouts), among others. Transcend's investment thesis centers on AI as underlying architecture rather than a feature, with a focus on PC gaming, AA development economics, and global market expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transcend Fund I Transcend's inaugural seed fund that deploys capital into early-stage gaming and digital entertainment companies, with returns realized through equity ownership stakes and exit events.
• Transcend Fund II Transcend's second seed fund that deploys approximately $60M into AI-native entrepreneurs building the next generation of interactive entertainment, with increased allocation over Fund I.
• Transcend Fund III Transcend's third fund, which has made initial investments in AI-native gaming companies such as welevel.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top IRR decile performance for 2020 vintage venture funds (Fund I)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Singularity 6 (Acquired)coreOthersPortfolio company acquired by published Niko Partners. Former portfolio company that was successfully exited.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BITKRAFT Ventures: BITKRAFT is a leading early-stage gaming VC that co-invested with Transcend in Ruckus Games and WeLevel rounds. Operates a multi-stage games-focused fund model and is one of the most established gaming VCs globally, with directly comparable investment focus and stage.
• London Venture Partners (LVP): LVP is a London-based seed-stage gaming VC and a direct competitor at the same investment stage and geographic focus (one of Transcend's Principals previously worked at LVP). Both funds focus on early-stage game studios and gaming infrastructure.
• 1UP Ventures: 1UP Ventures is a San Francisco-based gaming VC that co-invested with Transcend in Brain Jar Games' $6.7M seed round. Operates a similar fund size and stage with a comparable investment thesis around early-stage games and interactive entertainment.
• Makers Fund: Makers Fund is a global interactive entertainment VC investing at seed and Series A. Comparable fund size, stage, and thesis around games, with a similar LP profile and global geographic reach across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
• Konvoy Ventures: Konvoy Ventures is a Boulder-based VC focused on the gaming industry, investing in seed and Series A game studios and infrastructure. Similar stage and sector focus as Transcend with a comparable fund size.
• Sisu Game Ventures: Sisu Game Ventures is a Helsinki-based early-stage gaming VC that co-invested with Transcend in Kinoa's $10M round. Direct peer in both sector focus and stage, with strong European gaming ecosystem roots.
• Goodwater Capital: Goodwater Capital is a consumer-tech focused VC with strong gaming exposure, co-invested with Transcend in WeLevel's seed round. Comparable stage focus on consumer-facing tech including games and entertainment.
• Galaxy Interactive: Galaxy Interactive is the interactive entertainment and gaming arm of Galaxy Digital, investing in games, blockchain gaming, and interactive experiences. Direct peer with a heavier web3 orientation and similar stage focus.

Broad incumbents

• a16z Games: Andreessen Horowitz's games fund is a much larger and broader incumbent in early-stage gaming investing, participating alongside Transcend in Live Aware Labs' seed round. Operates with much larger fund sizes across multiple sectors including crypto, AI, and consumer.

Others

• KRAFTON: KRAFTON is a major Korean game publisher that led Ruckus Games' $19M Series A alongside Transcend. While a strategic corporate investor rather than a pure VC, KRAFTON's venture activity competes for the same AI-native and AAA game studio deal flow.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/transcendfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/transcend-fund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments40 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Transcend.