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Makers Fund
Makers Fund was established in 2018 by Jay Chi, a former Tencent executive who led the company's international gaming partnerships, alongside Michael...
Makers Fund
Makers Fund was established in 2018 by Jay Chi, a former Tencent executive who led the company's international gaming partnerships, alongside Michael Cheung. Chi's experience scaling Tencent's global gaming ecosystem provided the direct operating thesis behind the firm: founders in interactive entertainment need capital partners who understand live-service game economics, platform dynamics, and studio scaling cycles from the inside. The firm maintains dual headquarters in San Francisco and Seattle. Makers pursues a concentrated venture strategy across gaming studios, interactive platforms, and gaming-adjacent infrastructure software. Asset classes span primary equity, early-stage tokens where appropriate, and occasional secondaries. The firm invests from seed through Series B, with reserve capital for follow-on growth rounds. Confirmed portfolio positions include VRChat, Sky Mavis (the studio behind Axie Infinity), Tripledot Studios, and Mod.io. Geographic deployment spans North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia — a footprint that mirrors the gaming industry's development hubs. The firm closed its second fund at $500 million in early 2022 as gaming valuations moderated, according to filings and media reporting (per Axios, January 2022). Team size remains undisclosed, though the partnership includes Alli Ottarsson, a veteran gaming operator, alongside Chi and Cheung. The firm's operating partners and venture partners include former studio founders and creative directors who source deals and diligence technical roadmaps. In January 2022, Makers closed Makers Fund II at $500 million, reinforcing its position during a period when many generalist firms were retreating from gaming-specific commitments. Makers' structural differentiator is its embedded operator model. Unlike generalist firms that bring in gaming advisors for select deals, Makers partners with studio heads and live-ops veterans as full-time investment team members who sit inside the IC process. This creates a sourcing moat in an industry where technical due diligence — evaluating game engines, retention metrics, and platform risk — functions as the primary barrier to entry for external capital.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2018
AUM
$500M – $1B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Additional offices
Seattle, WA, United States
Principals
Jay Chi
Founding Partner
Michael Cheung
Partner
Alli Ottarsson
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Makers Fund?
Investment decisions sit with the partnership committee, led by Founding Partner Jay Chi alongside Partners Michael Cheung and Alli Ottarsson. Chi's tenure at Tencent, where he drove international gaming M&A and partnerships, heavily shapes the firm's investment thesis. Operating partners with studio-founder backgrounds contribute to diligence but final IC authority rests with the named partners.
Does Makers Fund participate in token or web3 gaming deals?
Yes. Makers was an early backer of Sky Mavis, the Vietnam-based studio behind Axie Infinity, indicating comfort with web3 gaming economics where token mechanics and gameplay converge. The firm evaluates token-based opportunities alongside traditional equity, though its core portfolio remains equity-heavy across studios and platform infrastructure.
How does Makers Fund source proprietary deal flow?
Makers sources through its network of full-time operating partners — former studio heads and creative directors embedded in the firm's investment team. These operators maintain relationships across developer communities in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, Jay Chi's Tencent alumni network provides visibility into early-stage Asian gaming studios before they seek external Western capital.
Is Makers Fund structured as a family office or a venture firm?
Makers Fund operates as a traditional venture capital firm raising institutional limited partner capital, not a family office. Its second fund closed at $500 million from external LPs in early 2022. There is no publicly disclosed connection to a single-family wealth source.
What investment stages does Makers Fund typically target?
Makers invests from seed through Series B, with a primary focus on early-stage gaming studios and interactive platform companies. The firm reserves significant follow-on capital for growth-stage rounds of existing portfolio companies, a structure that requires larger fund sizes — Fund II closed at $500 million in part to support these reserves.
Which sectors does Makers Fund avoid?
The firm explicitly avoids sectors outside interactive entertainment and gaming-adjacent infrastructure. General enterprise SaaS, biotech, hard tech, and consumer non-gaming fall outside mandate. Even within gaming, Makers has historically shown less appetite for pure esports team investments, preferring platform and studio models with recurring revenue mechanics.
How does Makers Fund's operator model differ from other gaming investors?
Makers embeds former studio founders and live-ops veterans as full-time investment team members who participate in the investment committee process, not as external advisors consulted on specific deals. This structural integration means technical due diligence on game engines, retention curves, and platform risk is conducted by permanent team members rather than contracted experts, creating a sourcing and evaluation moat.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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