Kopply

Kopply, a mobile gaming technology company, was established in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October 2021 by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs: Ido Yablonka, Vadim Zak, and Guy Pitelko. This venture marks the second collaboration for the founders, who previously co-founded ClarityRay, a startup that was successfully acquired by Yahoo. Yablonka, serving as CEO, brings a wealth of experience from leading six prior exits to major corporations like Palo Alto Networks and Tencent, and also held the position of Israeli GM and VP of Product for Yahoo Search.

The company is focused on the development of a mobile-native gaming platform engineered to empower creators. This platform provides the tools for users to design, build, and publish their own games and interactive experiences, fostering a community of players, creators, and developers. Kooply's strategy aims to address key industry challenges, including game development, art creation, monetization, and distribution from a fresh perspective. The business model for its games, such as 'Kooply Run: Subway Craft', operates on a free-to-play basis, generating revenue through in-app purchases and advertising, a prevalent model in the mobile gaming sector.

In March 2022, Kopply secured a significant $18 million in a seed funding round. The investment was co-led by TPY Capital, Microsoft's venture fund M12, and mobile gaming giant Playtika, with participation from other notable investors including Aleph Venture Partners, Entrée Capital, Glilot Capital Partners, and Samsung Next. A key product stemming from this vision is "Kooply Run: Subway Craft," an endless runner game that exemplifies the company's creator-centric philosophy. The game allows players not only to navigate through various themed levels but also to use an intuitive in-app editor to craft and share their own unique runner levels with the community, thereby directly engaging with the user-generated content model. This aligns with the company's broader objective to lower the barriers for user-generated content and game management on mobile platforms.

Keywords: mobile gaming platform, user-generated content, game development, game creation, endless runner, Tel Aviv startup, Ido Yablonka, Vadim Zak, Guy Pitelko, Playtika, M12, TPY Capital, mobile games, game monetization, in-app purchases, gaming community, creator economy, ClarityRay, Kooply Run, Subway Craft, game editor, mobile-centric community, gaming technology, venture capital, seed funding