Nicosia, Cyprus. Zubr Capital investment director Nikita Krivelevich said artificial intelligence, strong founding teams and Cyprus’ growing gaming ecosystem are key factors shaping the future of mobile gaming. He made the remarks in an interview about the firm’s investment strategy and its backing of Cyprus-based Soloband Games.
Investment focus
Krivelevich said Zubr Capital focuses on Series A and Series B investments and typically targets companies generating more than $4 million to $5 million in annual revenue. He said cheque sizes usually range from $5 million to $12 million.
He said the firm takes a generalist approach rather than concentrating on a single sector. However, it prefers B2B SaaS companies, mobile applications, artificial intelligence and gaming-related businesses.
Gaming sector interest
Krivelevich said gaming is a particular area of focus because of the firm’s partnership with Wargaming and its experience evaluating more than 20 companies over the past five years. He said this included the decision to invest in Soloband Games, a studio operating in the Merge 2 mobile gaming segment.
He said the investment decision was based on strong product positioning, a clear market niche and an experienced team. He added that the firm had chosen not to invest in some cases when those elements were absent.
Importance of founding teams
Krivelevich said teams are a central factor in investment decisions. He said the firm considers potential or current team members to be the most important element when deciding whether to invest.
He said Zubr Capital carries out what it describes as HR due diligence, speaking to up to a dozen key team members and founders to assess mindset, capability and long-term potential.
Assessment criteria
Krivelevich said a strong team can still attract investment even when a product is weaker. He said the firm would probably not invest if it saw a good product and market but a weak team, while it could still invest if the team was strong.