AI-led live casino supplier startup Avanti Studios has finalised a €10m (£8.7m) seed round as it readies to launch in Spain later this month.
Co-founded by former LeoVegas Group CEO Gustaf Hagman and ex-Authentic Gaming boss Jonas Delin, the supplier uses AI dealers instead of humans in its games.
Avanti Studios was announced by the pair in January, with the duo claiming the product can deliver between 50% and 60% in cost reductions compared to standard live casino suppliers.
The startup closed a second portion of funding totalling €5m last month, to take the total value of the seed round to €10m.
The funding round, which was oversubscribed, closed on 19 May. Genting Casinos UK provided additional investment having first committed to the startup earlier this year.
Avanti Studios is planning to go live with operator partners later this month, initially in Spain.
Live baccarat and blackjack variants, as well as exclusive and original games, will make up the startup’s initial portfolio.
The startup’s commercial contracts are based on rev-share rather than fixed fees.
Hagman and Delin said the studio will be able to deliver customised and unique environments and dealers to “match any operator’s brand, language, appearance, dealing speed and stakes”.
Hagman stepped down as LeoVegas Group CEO last June. He co-founded the mobile-first operator in 2011 with Robin Ramm-Ericson.
AI live casino has caused a stir in the sector this year, with BetHog CEO Nigel Eccles telling EGR he expects 80% of dealers to be AI in the next five years.
Eccles recently closed a $10m funding round for his AI-dealer studio Sentient Studios in April.
The launch came after crypto casino BetHog launched ‘Sunny’, an AI croupier, across its blackjack offering last year.
Elsewhere, Playgon Games will shift from traditional live dealer to AI-led work as part of a “strategic repositioning”, the Toronto-listed supplier said last week.
On the funding round, Hagman remarked: “I’m incredibly proud of the investor group we’ve assembled.
“Their backing demonstrates not just a belief in our company, but a belief in the future, and I’d like to give a special thank you to the board of Genting Casinos UK for their continued support, guidance and the overall contribution they’ve made to our journey so far.”
Delin added: “Avanti is thrilled to have finalised its second stage of funding in what has been one of the biggest investment rounds in an industry startup this year.
“We strongly believe the future belongs to real-time, lifelike, interactive digital humans, and to see so many investors share this vision with us indicates one thing – this is only the beginning.”
The post Avanti Studios secures €10m seed funding ahead of June launch in Spain first appeared on EGR Intel.
Gustaf Hagman and Jonas Delin’s AI‑led live casino startup names Genting Casinos UK as a major early backer as it prepares market debut
The post Avanti Studios secures €10m seed funding ahead of June launch in Spain first appeared on EGR Intel.