Hip hop mogul Nas is expanding his ever-growing business portfolio by partnering with Google in his latest investment in a South African mobile game publisher, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Along with Nas, Google, and Riot Games, the mobile games publisher Carry1st has raised $20 million in a financing round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, the company said in an official statement.
The gaming publisher, whose games include “SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off” will use the added capital to take the company to the next level.
“On the back of 96 percent monthly revenue growth, Carry1st will use the additional capital to expand its content portfolio, grow its product, engineering and growth teams, and acquire tens of millions of new users,” the statement read. “Notably, Carry1st is expanding into game co-development, working with leading game studios on original concepts and developing the infrastructure to support play-to-earn gaming.”
“We’re excited to partner with this world-class group of investors who, in addition to capital, bring expertise across gaming, fintech, and web3,” said Cordel Robbin-Coker, co-founder and CEO of Carry1st. “In 2021, we launched multiple games and digital commerce solutions achieving really strong growth. Together we can accelerate this growth and achieve our goal of becoming the leading consumer internet company in the region.”
Nas’ venture capital firm, Queensbridge Venture Partners, has invested in several companies such Dropbox, SeatGeek, PlutoTV, and RobinHood.
In an interview with EBONY last year, Nas spoke about the importance of Black entrepreneurship and creating generational wealth.
“Black wealth was always important,” he said, “back to [the days of] King Solomon, Mansa Musa. Dig into the ground in Africa; it’s rich in resources. [Black American] wealth in modern terms is a new concept. Hip hop has created more Black millionaires than any other industry in America. Being able to invest in start-ups and invest in people’s futures, believing in them, welcoming them into what we have to offer, for them to trust us, for us to trust them, that friendship—that’s what America is all about.”
