What Level-Up does

Level-Up is a Luxembourg-domiciled venture capital fund (Level-Up 1 SCA) founded in 2016 by Guillaume Lautour and Thibaud Morin, dedicated to investing in independent mobile game studios across Europe and Asia. The fund targets up to 20 portfolio companies, providing equity financing from seed through late-stage and offering what it describes as long-term strategic support rather than purely financial capital. Its core "product" is the fund vehicle itself plus a curated portfolio of 11 disclosed mobile gaming and adjacent app companies, including Sport Faction, Advenworks, Weward, Smirk, Awesome Prototype, Neopolis Games, Donut Games, Superscale, Legendary Play, Lit Games, and Glorious Games; there is no proprietary software platform built by Level-Up itself.

The fund's value proposition rests on a community model in which portfolio companies share best practices while retaining full operational and strategic independence — a structure the founders argue cannot be replicated by a traditional one-to-one VC. Deal flow is sourced via referrals, founder networks, and a confidential pitch submission portal restricted to pre-qualified teams. The fund is regulated as an EU SFDR Article 6 product and is administered in partnership with Luxembourg-based W Conseil, whose partners sit on Level-Up's Management Board and Valuation Committee.

Commercially, Level-Up generates returns through the conventional VC model of management fees and carried interest on portfolio exits, rather than selling products or services. The founders' prior track record at Idinvest Partners (now Eurazeo) and Vivendi — collectively covering 35+ companies, 80+ rounds, and $5B+ in corporate value generated — is positioned as the principal credibility asset for attracting limited partners and founder deal flow. No fund size, AUM, revenue, or LP composition is publicly disclosed.

Name

Level-Up

Legal name

Level-Up

Website

https://level-up.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Level-Up is a Luxembourg-domiciled venture capital fund (Level-Up 1 SCA) that invests seed to late-stage in independent mobile game studios across Europe and Asia, currently holding 11 disclosed portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital — Mobile Gaming Investment

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Media, Entertainment & Gaming Growth Equity (FSANACAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Mobile gaming investments
• Seed to late-stage financing
• Independent game studios
• Europe and Asia gaming

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Fund Management: Level-Up operates as a venture capital fund investing in independent mobile game studios from seed to late-stage. The fund generates returns through portfolio company exits (acquisitions and IPOs), management fees, and carried interest on investment gains.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Level-Up operates a venture capital fund (Level-Up 1 SCA) that invests equity capital in independent mobile game and app studios across Europe and Asia, providing financing from seed to late-stage rounds. The fund pairs capital with long-term strategic support, sector expertise in mobile gaming, and cross-portfolio community knowledge sharing, targeting a portfolio scope of approximately 20 studios.

Product overview

Level-Up is a venture capital fund (Level-Up 1 SCA) dedicated to investing in independent mobile game studios across Europe and Asia. The fund provides financing from seed to late-stage and supports approximately 20 studios. Level-Up does not operate a unified software product but manages an investment portfolio of 11 portfolio companies including game developers (Sport Faction, Smirk, Awesome Prototype, Neopolis Games, Donut Games, Legendary Play, Lit Games, Glorious Games), an AI companion apps developer (Advenworks), a walking rewards app (Weward), and a game revenue optimization platform (Superscale). The fund also operates a pitch submission platform for pre-qualified teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Level-Up 1 SCA Venture Capital Fund A vertically focused venture capital fund (Level-Up 1 SCA, Luxembourg SCA, SFDR Article 6 product) that invests equity capital in independent mobile game and app studios across Europe and Asia, providing financing from seed to late-stage, long-term strategic support, and access to a curated portfolio community. Targeted at founders of independent mobile gaming studios and the fund's limited partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Investment portfolio includes studios that have generated significant exits including acquisitions by Stillfront, GSN Casino, Take-Two Interactive, Twitch, and Millennial ESports
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Griffin Gaming Partners: Griffin Gaming Partners is a dedicated gaming VC investing across early and growth stages globally. Comparable to Level-Up in its pure-play gaming focus and institutional approach to the vertical.
• 1Up Ventures: 1Up Ventures is a mobile and free-to-play gaming-focused early-stage VC. Comparable to Level-Up in its mobile-gaming specialization and similar seed-stage entry point.
• Aream & Co: Aream is a European early-stage VC specializing in digital media, gaming, and consumer tech. Comparable to Level-Up in European focus, sector specialization, and seed-to-growth ticket sizing.
• London Venture Partners (LVP): LVP is one of the most established mobile and free-to-play gaming venture funds, investing across Europe and globally. It is the closest direct competitor to Level-Up given its mobile gaming vertical specialization and similar early-to-growth stage mandate.
• Makers Fund: Makers Fund is a gaming-focused VC investing from seed to growth across interactive entertainment, with strong Asia-Pacific presence. Comparable to Level-Up in vertical focus and stage range, with overlapping geographic coverage.
• BITKRAFT Ventures: BITKRAFT is a leading global gaming-focused VC spanning seed, early, and opportunity stages across games, esports, and interactive media. Highly comparable to Level-Up in vertical focus, though broader in stage and geography.
• Hiro Capital: Hiro Capital is a London-based gaming and sports-tech VC investing across Europe and North America. Comparable to Level-Up in vertical focus and emerging-fund scale, with overlapping European studio sourcing.
• Galaxy Interactive: Galaxy Interactive is a gaming and interactive technology investment firm seeded by Galaxy Digital. Comparable to Level-Up in its dedicated gaming focus and broad-stage mandate.
• Play Ventures: Play Ventures is a Helsinki-based early-stage gaming VC running dedicated seed and growth funds focused on game studios and gaming infrastructure. Comparable to Level-Up in vertical specialization and seed-to-late-stage scope.

Broad incumbents

• Supercell (strategic investor): Supercell is a major mobile gaming studio that also deploys strategic capital into mobile gaming startups. Comparable as a capital provider to the same mobile gaming ecosystem Level-Up targets, though its investment activity is a side activity rather than its core business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments5 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Level-Up