Acorns’ Micro-Investment Video Game Startup Snags $7M

Video game startup Blast has raised another $7 million in funding.

The company, founded by Walter Cruttenden, the founder of Roth Capital Partners and co-founder of the micro-investment application Acorns, has managed to attract a few thousand users in its open beta.

It raised its initial $5 million round in March.

“It just started as a grand experiment,” said Cruttenden, according to reports. “Let’s see if we can reach people through games.”

“When I was in the securities business we talked about gamifying investing and saving,” he added.

With Blast, Cruttenden is providing investment perks for gamers, who can save in two ways: by siphoning off money ranging from one cent to ten cents while they play games; and by earning money for testing out new games and advancing in levels in the ones they’re already playing.

Gamers can save money at a one percent interest rate while playing popular games such as Candy Crush. Blast’s users are typically saving between $30 and $40 per month, according to Cruttenden.

“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,” he 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.”

Investors in the company include Tony Robbins, FinTech investment firm CreditEase and RX3, an investment fund based in Orange County.

Blast plans to use the money to roll out new features, including a leaderboard, which rewards top-ranked gamers with cash prizes of up to $1,000.