An augmented reality app receives £4.4m funding from big UK businesses

Snatch, an augmented reality ‘treasure hunt’ app, has announced today (November 2) it has received £4.4m in seed funding led by Initial Capital.

This is in participation with First Minute Capital, CrunchFund, Simon Equity Partners, Cassius Family Fund, Hanson Asset Management, Velocity Technology Fund and Silicon Valley Bank.

This investment sees the approval of Brent Hoberman CBE, the founder of LastMinute.com, and his fund First Minute Capital. Brent set up the fund in 2017 and they have chosen Snatch to become one of the early beneficiaries of their investment.

Joe Martin, founder and CEO of Snatch, said: “We are thrilled to have the backing of established entrepreneurs and business leaders, ranging from today’s tech stars, to entrepreneurs, gaming specialists and venture capitalists.

“We want to challenge how brands reach and engage consumers, and in doing so we’re shaking up both gaming and marketing, through the use of augmented reality, to deliver more to both. This investment will allow us to push ahead with our plans to create a truly game-changing product in the UK and expand Snatch worldwide, beginning in the US.”

Other investors include Cassius Family Fund, led by Emmanuel Seugé, as well as former senior vice president of content marketing at The Coca Cola Company.

Free to download and play, Snatch is the evolution of brand marketing wrapped up in an augmented reality treasure hunt, that gives brands an audience to tap into. Players can win real world prizes and the game has one sneaky twist: other players can steal your parcels and prizes from you.

The investment coincides with the game leaving Beta. Since its Beta launch, the app has attracted some half a million players, averaging one hour and 33 minutes a day in game across 12 sessions of gameplay.

There are now more than 120 UK brands on the platform including Heineken, Deliveroo, Missguided, Boohoo and Virgin Wines.

At launch there will be some £50m worth of prizes available to win.

Brent Hoberman, executive chairman and general partner of First Minute, said: “We always look for globally ambitious founders building businesses with digital at their core and we’re confident that Snatch is precisely that.

“A digital-first business at the cutting edge of consumer technology that’s exploiting new emerging technologies to redefine how brands market to consumers. Snatch has created an entirely new format and we’re thrilled to be working closely with the team.”

Snatch was founded by Joe Martin and Jamal Hirani in 2016 and has previously received funding from Unilever Ventures.

The app has offices in London and San Francisco and will use the funding to grow the app in the UK as well as plan towards a global expansion, with a US launch on the horizon.

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