Earn while you play start-up Blast secures $12m seed funding

A start-up geared towards turning mobile games into "micro-saving" tools today announced its seed fund has reached $12 million in total.

Described as "the first high-yield savings account for gamers," Blast promises to help people save and earn though playing mobile games, and has launched its app today on the Google Play store.

Compatible with every mobile title on the store, Blast enables people to earn cash dividends by completing personally set missions to explore new games or achieve higher levels in games they already play.

"By enabling players to save while they earn in-game achievements, Blast helps publishers keep players immersed in their favourite games," said Armin Collosi, VP of business development.

"By helping gamers save, the game companies actually help gamers level-up their real world lives."

Blast also is compatible with certain PC games, beginning with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam, with more PC games coming soon.

Gamers will be able to earn money in three ways through the app: interest paid on balances, dividends from missions, and weekly leaderboard payouts for the top 25 per cent, with up to $1,000 for first place.

"It is hard to save and difficult to change behaviors," said one of Blast's key advisers, Shlomo Benartzi, a behavioral economist at UCLA.

"But if you can attach a positive outcome to something that people already do and love, like gaming, you can change lives. That's what we are trying to do at Blast - improving outcomes to change lives for the better."

Blast previously raised $5 million from investors including Forbes and Roth families, Core Innovation Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Snowmass Private Equity, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and others.

The additional $7 million in funding -- offered by entrepreneur Tony Robbins, CreditEase, and RX3 -- will be used to accelerate the company's growth through the early marketing phase.