Laton Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Laton Ventures is a Turkish-founded, Amsterdam-headquartered venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to gaming and apps, with the tagline "From Gaming for Gaming." The firm invests in early-stage companies building mobile, cross-platform, and increasingly AI-enhanced gaming and app experiences globally. Laton's differentiator is operator-grade support: the firm is backed by more than 35-40 gaming-industry veterans (including alumni of Supercell, King, Zynga, and Peak Games) who provide hands-on help with game design, product management, marketing and user acquisition, and HR, alongside an extensive network connecting portfolio founders to leading gaming VCs and industry players worldwide.
Stage Focus
Laton focuses on pre-seed and seed stage investing, occasionally following on or co-investing in Series A rounds when portfolio companies scale quickly (e.g. Grand Games' rapid Series A). The firm positions itself as a first institutional check for gaming and apps founders in Türkiye, Europe, and beyond.
Check Size
Public reporting on individual rounds suggests typical checks in the roughly $250K-$2M range for pre-seed and seed leads, with smaller participations in larger syndicated rounds (e.g. its role in Antihero Studios' $4.5M seed co-lead with a16z Speedrun, or Grand Games' $30M Series A alongside Balderton and Bek Ventures). No official check-size range is published on the firm's site.
Lead Tendency
Laton exhibits both behaviors: it has led or been the sole named investor in smaller pre-seed rounds (Surpass Games' $1.5M pre-seed), co-led larger seed rounds alongside top-tier funds (Antihero Studios' $4.5M seed with a16z Speedrun), and participated as one of several investors in others (Slay's $5M seed led by Accel; Grand Games' $30M Series A led by other investors).
Recent Activity
Laton closed its debut fund at $50M in February 2025 (after an initial $35M first close announced in April 2024), making it reportedly Türkiye's largest gaming- and apps-focused fund. Since inception the firm has made roughly 7-11 investments, with two portfolio companies (Grand Games and Antihero Studios) going on to raise sizable follow-on rounds within their first year. Its most recent disclosed investment is the March 2026 co-led seed round in Antihero Studios (developer of the extraction shooter Misfitz), alongside a16z Speedrun.
Portfolio Highlights
- Grand Games (grand.gs) - Turkish mobile gaming studio behind "Magic Sort"; raised a $30M Series A in early 2025, reportedly the fastest Series A in Turkish startup history, with Balderton and Bek Ventures.
- Antihero Studios (antiherostudios.com) - Barcelona-based studio of Supercell/King/Candy Crush alumni building the social extraction shooter Misfitz; raised a $4.5M seed co-led by Laton and a16z Speedrun.
- Slay (slay.cool) - Berlin-based social gaming platform behind the virtual-pet game Pengu; raised a $5M seed led by Accel, with participation from Laton and notable gaming founder-angels (Ilkka Paananen of Supercell, Ricardo Zacconi of King).
- Surpass Games (surpassgames.com) - Mobile gaming studio; raised a $1.5M pre-seed from Laton.
- Pine Games (pinegames.com) - Istanbul-based mobile puzzle game studio founded by a former Peak Games product lead; raised a $2.25M pre-seed co-led by 500 Emerging Europe and Laton.
- Sequel Games (sequel.games) - Sweden-based mobile gaming company; an early Laton investment.
- Layer AI (layer.ai) - AI tooling for game art production; raised a $1.8M seed alongside The Games Fund and The Games Syndicate.
Team
- Görkem Türk, Founding Partner - Former Gaming & Startups Industry Manager at Google; founded Laton and is the public face of the firm.
- Volkan Özen, Principal - Co-founder of mobile gaming company Cratoonz.
- Melisa Yaguboglu, Principal - Investment banking background focused on the gaming sector.
- Sinem Zeynep Anıl, Senior Associate - 4+ years in mobile game growth roles.
The firm describes its broader network as "35+ successful gaming industry veterans" who back the fund and support portfolio companies informally.
Decision Process
Not publicly documented in detail. Given the firm's small core team (a founding partner plus two principals and a senior associate), decisions are likely made as a partnership rather than through a formal investment committee.
Founder Preferences
Laton looks for passionate, experienced gaming and apps teams, with a stated preference for "genuine connections with visionary and passionate teams" and a selective, merit-based approach to who it backs. Several portfolio founders have backgrounds at major gaming companies (Peak Games/Zynga, Supercell, King) or are serial gaming entrepreneurs.
Geographic Focus
Global gaming and apps investing with a strong emphasis on Türkiye-based founders (the firm's origin market) and broader Europe (Berlin, Barcelona, Stockholm), while also investing in the US (San Francisco-area teams). Headquartered at De Lairessestraat 145A, 1075 HJ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.