Haveli Investments, L.P., a private equity firm with a focus on technology and gaming, has recently made a substantial investment in Candivore, the developer of the popular mobile game Match Masters. The investment, totaling around $100 million, grants Haveli a minority interest in Candivore. The funding for this acquisition comes from Haveli VC Gaming Fund I, L.P.
Candivore, established in 2018 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is an independent gaming studio primarily engaged in creating mobile games. The founding team, led by CEO Gal Goldstein, includes members such as Ehud Rosenberg (Product and R&D Lead), Sahar Azran (CTO), Alon Shkedi (Client Developer Lead), Tom Amel (Backend Developer Lead), Zur Tamam (Chief Creative Officer), and Ilya Agron (COO). Their flagship creation, Match Masters, is an inventive match-3 puzzle game where players challenge opponents worldwide, participating in expansive tournaments and events. With over 50 million downloads and a revenue of more than $300 million, Match Masters has gained substantial popularity.
Ophir Lupu, Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments, expressed, “Candivore’s Match Masters is a clear category leader with a rapidly growing user base and a talented, entrepreneurial leadership team. We are excited to partner with them on our first investment in the mobile gaming space and look forward to collaborating with Gal and the team at Candivore to capitalize on their success to date and help take the business to new heights.”
Diwakar Rao, Principal at Haveli Investments, echoed this sentiment, stating, “Candivore is a world-class mobile gaming studio, and we are excited to partner with Gal and his talented team. Match Masters has successfully combined the popular match-3 mechanic with a competitive game play mode that makes it unique and fun to play. With our experienced operating partner network, we are confident Haveli is well positioned to support Candivore through its next stage of growth and drive value creation.”
Gal Goldstein, CEO of Candivore, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, noting, “We are thrilled to partner with Haveli. This investment gives us access to capital, as well as Haveli’s team of top-tier investors and operating partners, enabling us to further grow Match Masters in the United States and beyond and bring additional games to market over time.”
Eitan Reisel, Founder of vgames, an early investor in Candivore, remarked, “It has been mind-blowing to see what Candivore’s founding team and employees were able to achieve in the past three years. Match Masters is a category leader with so much potential to grow. We are all very much looking forward to a great partnership with Haveli.”
Since its launch in 2022, Haveli Gaming has previously invested in ventures such as London-based Omeda Studios, known for their title Predecessor, and Montreal-based Behaviour Interactive, renowned for their successful online game Dead by Daylight.
