Firstpoint VC is targeting a €50 million fund to back early-stage startups in the AI-driven gaming and entertainment space, with a clear focus on emerging markets. The firm has now officially launched, stepping into a growing interactive media sector that continues to expand globally.
Its investment focus will center on regions such as Türkiye, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. These markets are gaining attention for their strong talent pools and ability to build startups that are scalable and diverse. The gaming and entertainment industry is already valued at around $600 billion and is expected to grow upto $1 billion in the coming years.
Firstpoint VC is led by General Partners Burak Yılmaz and Mike Fischer, who together bring more than 30 years of experience across investment and operational roles. Their backgrounds include time at companies such as WePlay Ventures, Square Enix, Epic Games, Amazon, Bandai Namco, SEGA, and Microsoft.
The firm has also brought in an experienced Advisory Board, including Jen MacLean, former General Manager at Xbox, Luke Dicken, former Head of AI at Take-Two Interactive, and Bora Kocyigit, former Country Manager at Riot Games.
Burak Yılmaz said that over the past decade, Türkiye’s gaming sector has shown that globally relevant companies can be built with limited capital, something they now see emerging across Europe and Asia, particularly in countries such as Poland and Vietnam. He further added, “By bringing together our team’s regional investment experience, deep operating knowledge across global gaming companies, and a broad partner network spanning the region, we aim to support the next generation of standout companies from the earliest stage.”
Sharing that AI is set to shape the next era of gaming and entertainment, Mike Fischer added that the strongest companies being those that build it into their core strategy. He continued, “One of Firstpoint’s greatest strengths is its ability to combine that category focus with a strong regional network across Türkiye and other high potential markets in Europe and Asia. That puts us in a strong position to identify exceptional founders early and back them build companies with global relevance.”
Beyond funding, Firstpoint VC says it wants to work closely with founders and be involved throughout their journey, even in cases where it does not invest. The approach builds on lessons from Türkiye’s gaming ecosystem, which has produced companies like Peak Games and Dream Games, and aims to apply similar thinking across other growing markets.
With the fund now in place, Firstpoint VC will begin looking for startups to back across these regions, focusing on teams building for global audiences from emerging ecosystems.
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