BEIJING, Aug. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund (CEFIF), a USD 1 billion San Francisco based Fintech Fund of the leading Beijing-based FinTech conglomerate CreditEase, recently co-led the seed round in mobile gamification company Blast.
Blast is a California based startup led by Acorns founder and Chairman, Walter Cruttenden.
Other investors in Blast include personal growth guru Tony Robbins, VC Fund RX3, Forbes and Roth families, Core Innovation Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and Snowmass Private Equity.
There are 2.6 billion gamers worldwide and Blast’s goal is to make savings exciting and rewarding for the gamers. The free Blast mobile app enables users to micro-save and earn money while playing the games they love. To get started, users download the Blast app, link their bank account, and play to save money. Gamers can decide how much they want to save based on simple time triggers or more complex achievement triggers. The players will also be able to earn money through cash rewards and incentives as they move forward through challenging higher levels. The savings and earnings will go into an FDIC insured bank account.
Blast is not a new game but simply takes an existing concept of rewards (points, badges, leaderboards, avatars, and teams) in available games and applies that to a non-game financial and life context of saving and earning money. The app works in the background of several existing games like Candy Crush, Angry Birds or Words with Friends, so game sessions are never interrupted. Blast will continually add support for additional PC games on Steam, and has started a waitlist for games on iOS.
“It’s tough for most people to save money, so we created Blast to help people start accumulating wealth simply by doing what they already enjoy - playing their favorite games,” Cruttenden said. “Blast takes something hard or boring – like saving money – and makes it fun and easy through gaming. The app is simple to use for both avid and casual gamers and adds a new dynamic that can make games more interesting. Gamers tell us they feel better with the time they spend gaming when they know they are micro-saving or micro-earning in the background.”
“We are very excited to partner with Walter and his exceptional management team that has a strong track record of building successful financial services and gaming companies,” Ms. Anju Patwardhan, a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Managing Director of CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund said. “We are very excited to lead Blast’s seed round and be part of this revolutionary journey of bringing micro-savings and micro-earnings into the everyday lives of gamers.” Patwardhan will also join the Board of Blast.
One of the Blast’s key advisors, Behavioral Economist, Shlomo Benartzi of UCLA, commented, “It is hard to save and difficult to change behaviors. But if you can attach a positive outcome to something that people are already doing and love, like gaming, you can change lives. That’s what we are trying to do at Blast – improving outcomes to change lives for the better.”
About CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund
Founded in February 2016, CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund (“CEFIF”) is a venture fund investing in FinTech companies globally. CEFIFI has an equivalent of USD 1 billion in the total committed capital. The Fund was recently ranked the 3rd “Most Active Fintech VC Fund” globally by CB Insights and also nominated for “Top Fintech Equity Investor” Award at LendIt USA Annual Conference.
www.cefintechfund.com
About CreditEase
CreditEase is a leading FinTech company in China, specializing in wealth management and inclusive finance, in addition to payment technology, marketplace lending, crowdfunding, robo-advisory, insurance technology and blockchain products and services. CreditEase actively engages with global FinTech innovators through business incubation, commercial co-operation, and investment.
www.creditease.cn
Better tech, better finance, better world.
About Blast
Blast is an early stage technology company focused on using novel game mechanics to improve outcomes for gamers, game companies and the financial services industry. Located in Newport Beach, CA, Blast currently has a team of 28 designers, engineers and research personnel playing games and developing new savings triggers everyday!
https://blast.com/
Contacts:
CreditEase Corporate Communications
Shirley Xu yanxu14@creditease.cn