Darz, a major German data center company, has invested $1.5 million in the Russian startup Playkey. The deal, the terms of which have not been disclosed, was reported earlier this month by the Russian media and by Skolkovo, the international tech hub located near Moscow which hosts the startup.
Playkey is a cloud gaming service operating internationally. Its technology allows users to play the latest video games on low-performance computers.
“To upgrade his computer or console, an average Russian user would need to pay from 50,000 to 90,000 rubles [roughly $800 and $1,500 respectively at the current exchange rate]. Meanwhile, our monthly subscription fee amounts to just 390 rubles [a little more than $6],” Playkey’s founder Egor Guriev told Kommersant.
According to the company, nearly one million users have registered for this video game streaming service since 2015. More than 300,000 of them have played and 30,000 of them have subscribed at least once.
Currently, Playkey claims more than 6,000 active users of the service.
Presently, 250 games are offered. Playkey works with game publishers with a revenue-share model.
Playkey is a resident company of Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow.
Prior to the deal with Darz, the startup had raised nearly $1 million. Last year, the company’s revenue exceeded $500,000, up from around $80,000 in 2015.
Darz’s investment will help the Russian startup expand internationally (primarily to Europe and Asia), develop its platform and infrastructure, and offer more games.
Based it Darmstadt, DARZ is a full-service data center and IT provider. The company offers such IT services as cloud computing, connectivity, secure storage, dual data center and managed services for banks, insurance companies, medium-sized companies and startups.
