Playlabs
Cambridge, US · 1 known investors
Play Labs is a startup accelerator/lab focused on games, media, and emerging technologies such as virtual reality, run in connection with MIT. It supports founders building consumer entertainment and technology companies.
Also known as Play Labs · Play Labs @ MIT · Play Labs, LLC
Founders & leadership
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Play Labs (Play Labs @ MIT, operating entity Play Labs, LLC) is a startup accelerator and incubator that invests in and mentors early-stage companies applying what it calls "playful technology": virtual and augmented reality, video games, esports, artificial intelligence and machine learning, 3D modeling and rendering, streaming, gamification, machine vision, and — from the 2018 batch onward — blockchain and digital currency. The program accepts applications of these technologies to any industry, including gaming, entertainment, education, healthcare, finance and manufacturing.
The program is run by Bayview Labs, LLC in conjunction with the seed-stage venture firm Seraph Group, and is hosted on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts by the MIT Game Lab (a research group in MIT's Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing) together with Ludus, the MIT Center for Games, Learning, and Playful Media. The student organization VR@MIT also participates. Each cohort runs over the summer — for 2018, formally from the week of June 11 through the week of August 15 — with teams given workspace on campus, mentorship from the executive director, MIT faculty and staff, MIT alumni entrepreneurs and Seraph Group's investor network, and a Demo Day attended by investors and the MIT community.
Founding story
The accelerator was created by Rizwan Virk, an MIT computer science and engineering alumnus (class of 1992) and Silicon Valley angel investor, who has said he designed the program because focus on playful and gaming technologies, particularly VR/AR, had concentrated on the West Coast while he believed the ecosystem around MIT in Boston had comparable talent and startup ideas, and because he wished a program combining MIT staff support with industry entrepreneur mentorship had existed when he graduated. Virk did his undergraduate thesis at the MIT Media Lab in the Interactive Cinema group and was a finalist in the early MIT $10k (now $100k) competition.
Business model
Play Labs operates as an equity-based accelerator: it makes a standard investment of $20,000 for 6% in common stock in each accepted startup, with graduates meeting certain criteria eligible for up to $80,000 in follow-on funding from the Play Labs Fund and its investment partners. For the 2018 batch the initial investment could be made in cash or in Bitcoin. Companies that are further along — at least $100,000 in annual revenue or at least $100,000 raised — may negotiate alternative participation terms. Accepted teams must establish a legal entity before the investment can be made.
Play Labs takes common-stock equity in participating startups — standard terms of $20,000 for 6% — through the Play Labs Fund, with additional follow-on investment of up to $80,000 available to qualifying graduates alongside investment partners and corporate sponsors.
Traction
The first cohort in summer 2017 admitted 13 companies; the 2018 batch targeted and announced 10 companies. The 2018 class included BitMovio (blockchain video entertainment marketplace), BlocksCAD (3D modeling software for schools, reported over 200,000 users worldwide and partnerships with Code.org and Google Education), Button Wallet (multi-cryptocurrency wallet and exchange inside Telegram, reported more than 6,000 alpha users), InTheGame (computer-vision apps gamifying esports and live broadcasts), LUI (voice and gesture interface for large screens and AR/VR), PlaySpark (social gaming in AR), Realism (gamified VR and laptop science labs for classrooms), SitNPlay Games (multiplayer esports platform with real-money prizes), Toucan AI (conversational AI characters), and Whetstone Technologies (voice applications for Alexa and Google Home focused on healthcare).
Latest developments
In 2018 Play Labs ran its second batch and announced a class of 10 startups spanning esports, blockchain, VR/AR and ed-tech, with Demo Day held August 14, 2018 in MIT classroom E51-115. Colopl Next, the corporate venture arm of Japanese game developer Colopl, Inc., joined as an investor and sponsor for the summer 2018 batch, and Theta Labs joined as blockchain partner and sponsor, with Theta founder/CEO Mitch Liu serving as a mentor.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Play Labs positions itself as a thematically focused accelerator rather than a generalist one, setting specific technology areas for each batch and tying its program to MIT's campus, faculty and alumni network. It notes that, unlike some incubators, it defines target areas per cohort and, unlike accelerators that discourage solo founders, accepts them.
Technology
The accelerator's areas of interest include blockchain and digital currency (including blockchain for gaming, decentralized entertainment apps, decentralized exchanges, and analytics for blockchain and virtual currencies/goods), esports and video game streaming, VR and AR tools and applications, AI/machine learning including vision applications, Facebook instant games, and Alexa and other voice-enabled applications.
Go-to-market
Play Labs recruits through annual open application rounds publicized via press releases, MIT channels and its own site and blog. For the 2018 batch, applications closed March 15, 2018, with finalists selected in late March/early April and admissions in late April/early May; late applications were considered case by case if slots remained. Applications are open to MIT-affiliated teams (at least one founder who is an MIT alum, student, faculty or staff member), which receive the majority of slots, and to "visiting founders" without MIT affiliation. Solo founders are accepted, and companies need not be incorporated to apply. Demo Day and a public open house serve as showcase channels to investors and the MIT community.
Early-stage startup teams at any stage from pre-founding through seed working on playful technologies, with a majority of slots for teams having at least one MIT alumnus, student, faculty or staff member, plus a limited number of visiting-founder slots for non-MIT teams able to relocate to Boston for the summer.
Geography
The program is based on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hosted by the MIT Game Lab, with operations also referenced in Mountain View, California through Bayview Labs. Participating founders must be in the Boston area for the duration of the summer program; applicants are accepted internationally, including teams with no MIT affiliation.
History
Play Labs was announced in January 2017 by Bayview Labs and Seraph Group in coordination with the MIT Game Lab, with a first cohort running June through August 2017 on the MIT campus; the initial batch focused on virtual and augmented reality and admitted 13 companies. In January 2018 the accelerator opened submissions for a second batch, adding digital currency/blockchain and esports to its eligible technology areas and offering the option of investment in Bitcoin. During the 2018 program Play Labs added Theta Labs as a blockchain partner and sponsor (May 2018) and Colopl Next as an investor and sponsor (July 2018), held a public open house at MIT on July 3, 2018, and announced a 10-company class with a Demo Day on August 14, 2018 at MIT.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsPlay Labs announced its summer 2018 class of 10 startups spanning esports, blockchain, VR/AR and ed-tech, with Demo Day scheduled for August 14, 2018 at 6:00 pm EDT at MIT in classroom E51-115.
Colopl Next, the corporate venture capital arm of Japanese game developer Colopl, Inc., became an investor and sponsor in the summer 2018 Play Labs batch held at the MIT Game Lab in Cambridge, MA. Colopl Next operates several funds totaling more than $100M and invests globally, with more than half its portfolio outside Japan.
Play Labs invited the public to test products and games from the startups it was hosting, held at 32 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA (rooms 32-124 and 32-144) from 5pm to 8pm.
Theta Labs, Inc. became a partner and sponsor of the summer 2018 Play Labs batch, the first year the program included blockchain startups. Theta founder and CEO Mitch Liu, an MIT alumnus, joined as a mentor for the teams.
Play Labs, LLC and the MIT Game Lab opened applications for a second batch running June through August 2018 at MIT, adding digital currency/blockchain and esports/video game technology to its focus areas alongside VR/AR and machine learning/AI. Accepted startups were offered $20,000 in cash or Bitcoin for common stock, with up to $80,000 in additional funding available. Application deadline was March 15, 2018.
Bayview Labs and Seraph Group, in coordination with the MIT Game Lab, announced Play Labs, a startup accelerator for MIT students and alumni building companies using playful technologies. The first batch ran June through August 2017 on the MIT campus, focused initially on VR and AR, with $20,000 initial investments for common stock and up to $80,000 in follow-on funding for qualifying graduates.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Playlabsplaylabs.tv · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Playlabs do?
- Play Labs is a summer accelerator hosted at the MIT Game Lab that invests in startups building "playful technologies."
- Who are Playlabs's investors?
- Playlabs's investors include Colopl Next.
- Where is Playlabs headquartered?
- Playlabs is headquartered in Cambridge, US.