TRANSCEND
Venture capitalSan Francisco · Seed–Series A · 5 people tracked
Also known as TRANSCEND MANAGEMENT, LLC
Investment thesis
Transcend invests in founders building in games and interactive entertainment, drawing on the operating and M&A experience of its game-industry-veteran team. The firm follows global trends shaping the digital entertainment market and seeks out highly talented teams worldwide. It partners closely with builders and storytellers, supporting portfolio companies on product strategy, market validation, and the creative and commercial narratives needed to attract talent, audiences, capital, and opportunity, aiming to help teams reach exceptional outcomes.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 26 of 55 portfolio companiesGaming ×16AI & Machine Learning ×7Consumer ×5Crypto & Web3 ×4SaaS ×4Data & Infrastructure ×2Developer Tools ×2Enterprise Software ×2
HQs:United States×15Canada×1Germany×1Finland×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 9 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×62 founders×23 founders×1
Investments · 55 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 12024 · 32023 · 12020 · 18 dated
Big Run Studios develops mobile games that put competitive, real-money twists on classic genres such as slots, bingo, solitaire, word puzzles, minesweeper, and cooking management.
ConsumerGamingMobility & TransportationOakland, US
Andrew Bell(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in
Board seatShanti Bergel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsGalaxy Interactive
Santa Monica, US
Federico Heller(Executive Officer, Director)German Heller(Executive Officer, Director)Jorge Ignacio Tereso(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Maseda(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Board seatAndrew Sheppard· per SEC Form D · $4.8M raise · filed Jul 2024
Gardens Interactive is a distributed videogame studio building multiplayer social roleplay games, with a flagship shared fantasy adventure set in a shapeshifting wilderness.
ConsumerGamingLos Angeles, US
Chris Bell(Cofounder, Creative Director and Co-Design Lead)Christopher Bell(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Stephen Bell(Executive Officer, Promoter)Alexander Dostal(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Board seatShanti Bergel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsFunPlusTIRTA VenturesLightspeed Venture Partners
Midsummer Studios is an independent game studio developing a next-generation life simulation game that lets players create and share their own stories.
GamingBaltimore, US
Jacob Solomon(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)William Miller(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Nelsie Birch(Executive Officer, Promoter)
Board seatShanti Bergel· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBetaworksTIRTA VenturesBetaworks Ventures Management, LlcF4 FundKrafton
Ruckus Games is a video game development studio building original games with a focus on distinctive art style, interactivity, and player agency.
GamingPlano, US
Paul Sage(Executive Officer, Director)inChristofer Strasz(Executive Officer, Director)inJesse McIntyre(Executive Officer, Director)inScott Kester(Founder)in
BoardMaria Park(Director)
Board seatAndrew Sheppard· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBitkraft Esports VenturesBITKRAFT VenturesKrafton
Maestro.io is a gaming and esports company offering analytics and enterprise SaaS products, founded in 2015 by Ari Evans.
Impact & Social GoodSocial
Ari Evans(Founder)in
Co-investors500 Global7BC Venture CapitalSeventySix Capital
A game development studio that creates video games.
GamingSan Francisco, US
Rohan Knuckey(Director)William Cook(Executive Officer, Director)Jonathan McEvoy(Executive Officer)
BoardBrett Krause(Director)in
Co-investorsMenlo Ventures
Bunch is a mobile app for video chatting with friends while playing party games together.
ConsumerGamingImpact & Social GoodSocial
Jason LiangJordan Howlett
Co-investors500 GlobalColopl NextMetis VenturesRed Beard VenturesVelo PartnersZ Venture Capital+1 more
Welevel is a game studio in Munich developing video games using Unreal Engine 5 and proprietary AI infrastructure.
GamingMunich, DE
Co-investorsblueworld.groupBurda Principal InvestmentsBITKRAFT Ventures
Cosmic Lounge is a startup that develops mobile puzzle games.
GamingHelsinki, FI
Co-investorsBoost Capital PartnersProject A VenturesSisu Game Ventures
Plotdrive is an AI-powered writing tool designed for authors to draft novels and books faster with editorial guidance that preserves their unique voice.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLos Angeles, US
Jay Rosenkrantz(Founder)inScott Rosenkrantz(Founder)in
Co-investorsY Combinator
Poker Skill is a poker-learning app that teaches strategy through interactive puzzles and short guided lessons for players from beginner to expert, with progress tracking, streaks, and personalized learning paths.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechGaming
Co-investorsMulticoin CapitalPharsalus CapitalSignalFire
A mobile app platform where users make predictions on pop culture events, TV shows, and trending topics to earn diamonds that can be redeemed for prizes, gift cards, or cash.
ConsumerGamingMedia & Entertainment
Co-investorsAcies InvestmentsFlybridge Capital PartnersKonvoy VenturesVelo Partners
Kinoa is an AI-powered platform for mobile app operations that lets teams manage engagement, retention, and monetization—communications, remote config, segmentation, A/B testing, and user flows—from a single dashboard without new code releases.
AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS
Live Aware provides AI-generated analysis of game playtests, producing dashboards and auto-generated notes that surface player sentiment, trends, and key moments from playtest footage.
AI & Machine LearningGamingSaaS
Co-investorsLifelike CapitalA16Z Speedrun
Methodical Games is a game development studio focused on building multiplayer games.
GamingRaleigh, US
Francesco Gigliotti(Founder)
Polygon develops technology for moving money through open systems globally, with a focus on stablecoin payments and infrastructure that integrates with existing financial systems.
Crypto & Web3Enterprise SoftwareFintech
Azeem Khan(Founder)inBobbin Threadbare(Founder)
Co-investorsAlpha Wave GlobalBig Candle CapitalCeras VenturesCoinbase VenturesDigital Currency GroupEllipti+10 more
Roboto is a data platform for teams working with real and synthetic robotics data, letting them organize log files, search multimodal sensor and video data, and use AI agents to surface anomalies and diagnose failures.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureRoboticsSeattle, US
Benji Barash(Founder)in
Co-investorsAllen Institute for AI (AI2) IncubatorFUSEUnusual VenturesAndreessen Horowitz
Roboto Games develops survival crafting video games designed for both solo and cooperative multiplayer play.
GamingSan Mateo, US
Curt Bererton(CEO)Mathilde Pignol(CCO)
BoardMichael Dearing(Director)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzMakers Fundgumi Cryptos Capital (gCC)Harrison Metal
Singularity 6 is a game development studio that creates online multiplayer games designed to deliver meaningful social experiences and player community belonging.
Gaming
Anthony Leung(Founder)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzFunPlus
Spatial develops a platform for teams to design, share, and experience 3D environments in real time using spatial computing technology.
Construction TechDeveloper ToolsFuture of WorkHardwareScottsdale, US
Calin Pacurariu(Founder)in
Co-investorsMonta Vista CapitalValia VenturesSamsung Next
Thatgamecompany is a video game developer, known for the game Sky, and produces related media including a wordless animated feature titled "Sky: The Two Embers" that reveals the origin story of the game's world.
ConsumerGamingMedia & EntertainmentLos Angeles, US
Jenova Chen(CEO & Creative Director)inSam McGrath(Chief Technology Officer)Peter Lee(Chief Information Officer)
Co-investorsKleiner PerkinsQualcomm VenturesCapital TodayTPG
Co-investorsSony Ventures Corporation
Velocity builds monetization and distribution infrastructure for AI-native applications, drawing on experience developing advertising, machine learning, and growth platforms at large scale.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningMarketing Tech
Co-investorsNFXRed Dot Capital PartnersCapital One VenturesCoinbase VenturesDragonflyFirstMark Capital+2 more
Venly provides blockchain developer tools including a Token API for creating, minting, burning, and managing ERC20 tokens without deep blockchain expertise.
Crypto & Web3Developer ToolsFintechSaaS
Tim Dierckxsens(CEO)Gerbert Vandenberghe(COO)Karel Striegel(CPO)Davy Van Roy(CTO)
Co-investorsTioga Capital PartnersAlpaca VCCoinbase VenturesCourtside VenturesHTGF
XPLA is a blockchain mainnet, transitioning to a rebrand called CONX, focused on connecting value across culture, finance, and technology in the web3 space.
Crypto & Web3
Co-investorsGOAL VenturesPlay VenturesBig Brain HoldingsHashedIVC
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesVelocity · thefintechtimes.com · Jul 24, 2026
Miden · cointribune.com · Jul 17, 2026
Spatial · spatialsource.com.au · Jul 16, 2026
CHRISTIAN · transcend.fund · Jun 15, 2026
Bunch · ibsintelligence.com · May 19, 2026
Fun · finsmes.com · May 4, 2026
Midsummer Studios · technical.ly · Mar 24, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has TRANSCEND made?
- TRANSCEND has 53 tracked investments, including 4 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does TRANSCEND invest at?
- TRANSCEND invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does TRANSCEND focus on?
- TRANSCEND focuses on Gaming, Media & Entertainment.
- Where is TRANSCEND located?
- TRANSCEND is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Who does TRANSCEND co-invest with?
- TRANSCEND most often shares deals with 500 Global, Andreessen Horowitz, FunPlus, among 55 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 16
Konvoy is a thesis-driven investment firm focused on interactive entertainment, deep tech, and critical industries.
BITKRAFT Ventures is a global investment platform focused on gaming, interactive media, and related technologies, backing companies building at the convergence of physical and digital worlds (which it calls Synthetic Reality).
Boost Capital Partners backs pre-seed and seed technology startups, providing hands-on growth support, user acquisition expertise, and access to a network of advisors.
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors from early stages through growth.
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC) is a seed-stage venture firm that invests early in founders, with a focus on AI-native companies building leverage and scale.
Benchmark is a venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Woodside that invests in early-stage startups.
Unknown Ventures is a venture studio based in Austin that provides funding and operational support to early-stage startups at the pre-seed to Series A stage. The firm backs founders seeking to create innovative solutions that improve human experience.
Goodwater Capital is a consumer technology investment firm backing entrepreneurs building companies across sectors such as housing, healthcare, food delivery, financial services, education, entertainment, and transportation.
Galaxy is an institutional digital assets and data center company offering trading, lending, asset management, investment banking, staking, custody, and venture investing across the crypto and blockchain ecosystem, along with a strategic expansion into AI/HPC data center infrastructure.
Foobar is the investment company of Icelandic entrepreneur David Helgason that focuses on supporting startups and investing in technology to accelerate global decarbonization and sustainability efforts.
Crosscut is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Los Angeles that backs founders building frontier technologies aimed at solving major societal challenges.
Signia Venture Partners is a venture capital firm founded in 2012 that backs entrepreneurs, breakthrough technologies, and innovative business models, positioning itself as a highly supportive, value-added investor.
▶4 more co-investors
Firms observed investing alongside TRANSCEND, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with TRANSCEND's recorded portfolio.
Similar investors
BITKRAFT Ventures is a global investment platform focused on gaming, interactive media, and related technologies, backing companies building at the convergence of physical and digital worlds (which it calls Synthetic Reality).
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