Bunch raises $3.8m in seed funding to bring group video chat to mobile games

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15, 2018 - Bunch (www.bunch.live), the first app that lets users play their favorite mobile games with friends over video chat, today announced that it has closed $3.8 million in seed funding.

The round was led by London Venture Partners, with participation from Founders Fund, Betaworks, North Zone, Streamlined Ventures, 500 Startups and others. The new capital will allow Bunch to ramp up user acquisition and expand its developer platform.

Bunch is a mobile gaming platform that lets people group video chat before, during and after playing their favorite mobile games. Inspired by 'LAN parties' where gamers get together and play video games in the same room, Bunch delivers the same social gaming experience on smartphones and tablets-even when the players are physically apart.

"A lot of us grew up playing PC games like Starcraft and Counterstrike with friends in the same room. Most of the fun in playing these games with friends comes from the ability to laugh together and trash talk during the games," said Selcuk Atli, co-founder and CEO at Bunch.

"With the rise of live mobile games like Fortnite and Roblox, younger gamers are trading in the large screens of their PCs and consoles for smartphones so they can play with their friends anytime, anywhere. We are building the chat application designed for them."

With the Bunch app, users can invite their friends to a party, pick their favorite game, and launch into a gaming session with the tap of a button. The app supports live voice and video chat for up to eight players and lets users play popular mobile games like Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and HQ Trivia with their friends.

"Popular mobile games are becoming live, and live games are coming to mobile devices. With this massive shift happening, players need better experiences to connect with friends and play together," said David Lau-Kee, general partner at London Venture Partners.

"Among the many companies we've seen tackling this problem, Selcuk and the team at Bunch have created, by far, the best user experience, and they have achieved great momentum with developer partners already. We are excited to be part of their journey and help Bunch scale."

Bunch does not require any direct integrations to support mobile games like Fortnite and Roblox. However, it offers developers a richer and more integrated experience via the Bunch Presence SDK. The Bunch Presence SDK brings much of the Bunch experience directly into native mobile games.

Spaceteam, the popular cooperative party game from developer Sleeping Beast Games, is the first game to integrate the Presence SDK. Bunch is already working on integrations with several other major game publishers and will be announcing these new partnerships in the coming months.

"Spaceteam is a local multiplayer game which involves shouting technobabble with your friends. It's high energy and hilarious, which makes for a great party game, but players need to be within earshot of each other to be able to play together," said Henry Smith, creator of Spaceteam.

"Thanks to Bunch, people can now play Spaceteam with friends who are far away, as if they are next to each other. It was very easy to get up and running with the integration, and it has been a pleasure working with the team at Bunch."