Transcend

Transcend Fund - Research Document

Investment Thesis & Core Focus

Transcend is a specialized venture capital firm dedicated to investing in games and digital entertainment. Founded in 2020 by game industry veterans Shanti Bergel and Andrew Sheppard, Transcend operates from a position of deep industry expertise built over 30+ years of combined experience building and scaling digital entertainment companies. The firm's thesis is rooted in the belief that talented game makers and entertainment creators deserve capital partners who truly understand their industry, market dynamics, and the unique challenges of building in this space.

Shanti Bergel, the founding partner and Managing Director, brings 30 years of game industry experience spanning every major platform and business model transition of the last several decades. His career has been animated by understanding how changes in technology and distribution affect products, services, and communities. Andrew Sheppard, also a Managing Director, is a strategist and seasoned executive with 20+ years building multi-billion dollar consumer businesses, having worked at EA, Gamespot, Kabam, GREE, and Rakuten Games across online media, social gaming, subscriptions, free-to-play, and mobile games.

Fund Evolution & Status

First Fund (Fund I): Launched in 2020 with $50M focused on seed-stage game investments.

Second Fund (Fund II): Transcend successfully raised a second seed fund, closing at nearly $60M in November 2023, signaling strong LP confidence and successful returns from the first fund.

Third Fund (Fund III): Currently in market development with announced plans for a third seed fund, indicating continued growth and investor appetite.

Current Activity: As of January 2025, Transcend is an active investor with 34+ portfolio companies. Recent deployments confirm active capital deployment through 2024-2025, with investments in Live Aware Labs ($4.8M seed, October 2024), Ruckus Games (Series A participation, November 2024), and others.

Stage Focus & Check Size

Primary Stage: Seed-stage investments for early-stage game studios and digital entertainment companies with working prototypes or early market traction.

Secondary Stage: Series A follow-ons for existing portfolio companies showing strong progress.

Typical Check Size: Based on portfolio analysis, Transcend invests in the $2M-$15M range for seed rounds, with capacity for larger follow-on investments in successful companies.

Recent Investment Examples:

• Live Aware Labs: $4.8M seed (October 2024)
• Ruckus Games: $19M Series A (November 2024) - portfolio follow-on
• Midsummer Studios: Multi-million seed (May 2024)
• Brain Jar Games: Co-led seed with Menlo Ventures (March 2024)
• Dotplay: Pre-seed led by Transcend (July 2024)

Lead Tendency

Transcend frequently leads seed rounds for its portfolio companies, as evidenced by their involvement in recent rounds: Midsummer Studios (lead), Dotplay (lead), Eggscape (lead), Cosmic Lounge (lead), and Brain Jar Games (co-lead with Menlo Ventures). This demonstrates conviction-driven investing and strong founder-first positioning.

Sector Focus & Portfolio Composition

Transcend's portfolio spans the entire gaming and digital entertainment ecosystem:

Core Gaming Sectors:

• Indie Game Studios: thatgamecompany (Sky, Journey), Gardens, Stress Level Zero, Ruckus Games, Methodical Games, Midsummer Studios, Brainjar Games
• Mobile Gaming: Big Run Studios (casual mobile), Treehouse Games, Cosmic Lounge (puzzle games), Fun Country
• Social & Multiplayer Gaming: Bunch (Discord for mobile games), Singularity 6 (cozy MMO Palia), Roboto Games, Indi (community platform for Asia/LatAm)
• VR/AR & Mixed Reality: Stress Level Zero (VR experiences), Eggscape (mixed reality social gaming), Spatial (immersive audio technology)
• Blockchain Gaming & Web3: Polygon (Ethereum scaling), XPLA (blockchain gaming platform), Laguna Games (blockchain gaming studio), Venly (blockchain agnostic tech), XLD Finance (crypto payments)
• Live Streaming & Community: Bunch, Maestro (interactive live streaming platform)
• Gaming Infrastructure & Tools: Live Aware Labs (AI-powered developer feedback)
• Digital Entertainment: Trioscope (hybrid live-action animation), Kings of Games (Chess Universe), Heroic Story (tabletop RPG platform)

Team & Operating Partners

Core Team:

1. Shanti Bergel, Managing Director & Founding Partner

   • 30-year game industry veteran
   • Global operating experience across every major platform and business model transition
   • Recognized member of TechCrunch List
   • Fluent in Japanese
   • Frequent speaker on early-stage investment, M&A, and strategic partnerships

2. Andrew Sheppard, Managing Director

   • 20+ years building multi-billion dollar consumer businesses
   • Former VP positions at EA, experience at Gamespot, Kabam, GREE, Rakuten Games
   • Deep expertise in online media, social gaming, subscriptions, free-to-play, mobile, and console games
   • Focus areas: cross-platform games, next-gen social gaming, cloud gaming, influencer communities

3. Brett Krause, Managing Director

   • Proven executive in venture investing, game making, finance, and banking
   • 20-year banking career including President of JPMorgan China and CEO of Citi Vietnam
   • Former Chief Investment Officer at FunPlus (independent game developer/publisher)
   • Founder of FPX, one of the world's most successful esports organizations
   • Fluent in Mandarin, Japanese, and French
   • Based in Zug, Switzerland

4. Sikander Chahal, Principal

   • Competitive gamer and digital native with M&A and fundraising experience
   • Prior roles: BIT Capital, London Venture Partners, Newzoo
   • Top percentile Dota player, former competitive Counterstrike player
   • Deep gaming passion combined with investment acumen

5. Lirui Ding, Principal

   • 15+ years in game and technology industry
   • Former StarCraft and Warcraft 3 e-Sports player (400+ APM)
   • 10 years consulting on strategy, M&A, and investment in gaming/tech ($10bn+ transaction value)
   • Recent experience at Activision Blizzard in Strategy & Corporate Development
   • Prior: Vodafone, LEK Consulting, KPMG

Operating Model: Partnership-driven decision making with significant board involvement typical for seed-stage gaming investments. The team's deep gaming expertise and operational backgrounds (many with AAA studio experience) enable active value-add beyond capital.

Decision Process & Timeline

Process: Partnership model with Shanti Bergel, Andrew Sheppard, and Brett Krause as primary decision-makers. Notable for conviction-driven investing evidenced by leading multiple oversubscribed seed rounds.

Timeline: Based on recent deployment velocity (quarterly investment announcements 2024-2025), estimated decision timeline of 2-4 weeks for warm-sourced deals with strong founder fit.

Warm Introduction: Critical for advancing conversations. As a partnership-driven, relationship-focused firm operating in a small ecosystem, warm introductions from trusted network contacts significantly increase traction.

Founder Preferences & Value-Add

Transcend seeks to partner with:

• Passionate game makers and storytellers focused on creating memorable experiences for players
• Talented founders at the top of their game with track records of building quality products
• Craftspeople with deep technical and creative expertise who deeply understand their domain
• Founders who understand global trends impacting the digital entertainment market

Value-Add Beyond Capital:

• Product Strategy: Deep expertise in game mechanics, player psychology, and market validation
• Operational Support: Assistance with technical execution, art direction, and design philosophy
• M&A Expertise: Significant experience with large acquisitions and strategic partnerships (Shanti, Brett background)
• Market Intelligence: Team monitors global trends across all platforms and market segments
• Network Access: Connections to industry executives, studios, distribution partners, and fellow founders
• Creator Narrative: Help developing the creative and commercial narratives that attract talent, audiences, capital, and opportunity

Geographic Focus

Primary: United States, particularly San Francisco Bay Area Secondary: Global reach demonstrated by portfolio companies across LA, San Francisco, NYC, Toronto, Baltimore, Raleigh, Seattle, London, Berlin, Antwerp, Helsinki, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Seoul, Bengaluru, and Ljubljana Team: Fully remote team with occasional in-person gatherings. Brett Krause based in Zug, Switzerland provides European connectivity

Notable Portfolio Companies & Track Record

High-Profile Exits & Acquisitions:

• Singularity 6: Raised $30M+ for Palia (cozy MMO), demonstrating Transcend's ability to lead larger rounds for breakout concepts
• Gardens: Raised blockbuster $31.3M Series A (July 2023) led by top-tier syndicate, validating the quality of Transcend's seed investments
• Thatgamecompany: Raised $160M (March 2022), one of the most celebrated independent studios (Sky, Journey)
• Stress Level Zero: VR leader, Bonelab game set record as fastest-selling app in Quest history (2022)

Active Portfolio (30+ companies): Notable studios include Ruckus Games, Methodical Games, Midsummer Studios, Brainjar Games, Roboto Games, Big Run Studios, Bunch, Maestro, Laguna Games, XPLA, Polygon, and 20+ others across gaming, Web3, and digital entertainment.

Fund Performance: Transcend was identified as a top-performing games fund (October 2022, VentureBeat), with strong returns validating the investment thesis and founder selection acumen.

Investment Philosophy & Differentiation

"Roll Deep. Deal Deep." - Transcend's positioning emphasizes:

• Deep Industry Expertise: Founded by game industry veterans, not generalist VCs
• Conviction-Driven Investing: Willingness to lead oversubscribed rounds demonstrates strong conviction
• Long-Term Partner: Focus on helping founders build lasting companies, not just quick exits
• Global Perspective: Monitoring worldwide trends and funding talented teams across geographies
• Creator-First Approach: Understanding that fandoms are built over years, not days

Thesis Validation: The firm's success across multiple fund raises, strong portfolio exits, and continued active deployment validates the core thesis that game makers benefit from capital partners who genuinely understand their industry and can provide operational expertise beyond money.