By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Layer Licensing is partnering with fintech company Sanlo to help gaming companies finance their licensing deals.
It’s another big move in Layer’s innovative approach to video game licensing, and follows the recent unveiling of its unique IP licensing marketplace.
Sanlo is a financial technology company that helps game and app developers scale with financial tools, insights and non-dilutive capital, while Layer focuses on helping find licensing partners.
The two companies are now combining their talents and resource, giving game developers access to Sanlo’s financial tools, technology and its $200 million pool of capital.
“IP has become a big part of the business of making games and can hugely impact user acquisition, monetization and player retention by tapping into readymade fanbases,” said Layer CEO Rachit Moti (seen above in photo with co-founder Chris Connors). “Our partnership with Sanlo is a great step forward for Layer and means we’ll be able to help even more developers collaborate with popular brands and characters.”
Moti says many gaming companies want to get into the licensing business, but may not have the capital required to launch a successful activation.
Acquiring IP such as brands, characters and stories is often reserved only for larger game publishers due to the opaque way in which licensing deals have traditionally been done. However, adding the right IP to a game has been proven to boost in-game economies, help retain valuable players, lower acquisition costs and deliver higher revenues.
Moti says that’s why Layer wants to improve access for small-to-medium-sized developers looking to bring well-known IP into their projects through its creation of a matchmaking marketplace for IP holders and games companies.
The idea is to combine future licensing deals with financial backing, putting such deals within the reach of many more games companies, and allowing them to focus on building rather than raising funding rounds.
Representing a developer-centric alternative to venture capital, publisher deals and bank loans, Sanlo says it offers non-dilutive, revenue-based and fixed-term financing based on app and revenue data. Layer’s marketplace aims to make IP acquisition accessible for all developers by matching them directly with IP holders (such as CareBears, Bruce Lee, and Narcos) and facilitating the licensing process.
“With our aims and ethos intertwined, Layer and Sanlo want to expand the opportunities available to a global community of developers“, said Olya Caliujnaia, CEO and Co-founder of Sanlo. “We are thrilled to join Layer in this endeavor and together we hope to provide financing and IP for the next generation of fun, world-beating games.”
Sanlo’s partnership with Layer further broadens the ecosystem of technology businesses helping to empower game and app developers – and the larger creator economy – following Sanlo’s recent partnership announcement with Stardust.