Enabling Growth: Cohort User Acquisition Financing

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Enabling Growth:
Cohort User Acquisition Financing

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Mobile gaming market has returned to growth
Weathering a challenging 2022 -2023, the mobile sector proves its resilience through innovation
Source: NewZoo, Omdia, SensorTower, Business of Apps
Mobile gaming rebounds from adversity…
93.0 102.9 95.3 95.1 100.3 103.1
18.8
26.5
33.9 34.5 36.8 39.8
$112B
$129B $129B $130B
$137B $143B
57.7 56.9 56.5 55.5
52.3
50.3
4 5.0
5 0.0
5 5 .0
60 .0
65 .0
70 .0
75 .0
8 0.0
0 .0
2 0.0
4 0.0
60 .0
80 .0
10 0.0
12 0.0
14 0.0
160 .0
2020A 2021A 2022A 2023A 2024A 2025E
In-App Purchases ($B) In-App Ads ($B) Downloads (B)
2 0 2 0 A -2 0 2 5 E C A G R
T O T A L : 5 . 0 % | I A P : 2 . 1 % | I A A : 1 6 . 2 % • Strong IAA growth driven by growing popularity of casual puzzle
genre and implementation of hybrid monetization and mechanics
• AI -powered AdTech engines improving user acquisition campaigns
performance (notably AppLovin’s AXON)
• Rewarded Ad platforms opening new user acquisition channels and
driving user loyalty
• Multiplatform adaptability as studios launch titles on PC/web
platforms to bypass mobile app store s fees
• IP licensing collaborations with major IP holders leveraging their
popularity to bring new audience/fanbase into games
… as industry players adapt to new environment
Projected mobile gaming
market growth
+4 % CAGR
2025E – 2027E

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Yet, mobile founders operate in a scarce VC capital environment
Despite industry growth and notable VC -backed exits, mobile studios struggle to raise capital
Mobile gaming has seen many sizable exits… …but VCs remain cautious about doubling down on the sector
Source: InvestGame; press releasesNote: (1) market cap at initial IPO offering price; (2) announced or estimated upfront enterprise value of the company
How should mobile studios adjust to this capital scarcity?
$153
$354
$754
$508
$589
$41 $31
$167
$101 $89
$279
$27 $43 $32 $45
$102 $75 $61
26 23
20 21 20
12 11
14
9
21
18
8
17 15
9
12
16 16
( 2 0)
( 15 )
( 10)
( 5 )
–
5
10
15
2 0
2 5
3 0
$0
$10 0
$2 00
$3 00
$4 00
$5 00
$60 0
$70 0
$80 0
$90 0
Q1-21 Q2-21 Q3-21 Q4-21 Q1-22 Q2-22 Q3-22 Q4-22 Q1-23 Q2-23 Q3-23 Q4-23 Q1-24 Q2-24 Q3-24 Q4-24 Q1-25 Q2-25
Deal Value ($m) # of Deals
VC CAPITAL DEPLOYED IN MOBILE GAMING STUDIOS ($M)
$4.9B
$700m
$10 .2B
$1.8B
$700m
~$5.0B
$7.0B
$1.1B
$7.1B
IPOs 1 M&As 2

4
142
35
25
12
11
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
<$5m
$5-10m
$10-30m
$30-100m
$100m+
45%
35% 34%
0%
10 %
2 0%
3 0%
4 0%
5 0% 48%
37%
30%
22%
16% 13%
0%
10 %
2 0%
3 0%
4 0%
5 0%
Mobile companies require massive UA investments to scale
High capital -intensive nature of mobile gaming business is a true barrier to growth
Source: earnings releases; InvestGameNote: (1) disclosed in M&A announcement press release; (2) includes only stand -alone Apps division (CY2024); (3) estimated based on reported Q1’25 MTG results; (4) based on rounds with disclosed value
Mature mobile gaming companies reinvest ~1/3 of revenue in UA Only a few studios raise enough capital
~10 % of all mobile startups raise $30m+
$201m $210m $191m $564m $39m $38m
Publicly listed mobile gaming companies Large private companies
$144m 1 $522m 2 $209m 3
34 %
median UA spend
share in gross revenue
ANNUAL ADVERTISING / USER ACQUISITION SPEND IN 2024CY
Apps
# OF STUDIOS BY TOTAL CAPITAL RAISED 4 2020 -25YTD
Can strong newcomers truly be competitive with limited access to capital?

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Smaller players require an even higher share of reinvestment
PvX Partners analysis of 3,000+ cohort metrics reveals the inconvenient truth of scaling mobile apps
Source: PvX Partners Note: (1) vast majority spend 70% of net revenue, equivalent to ~50% of gross revenue (adjusted for 30% platforms fees)
Net ROAS benchmarks for casual games by percentile
0%
50 %
10 0%
15 0%
20 0%
M1 M6 M12
207%
80 th
139%
60 th
96%
40 th
57%
20 th
~7 0 %
of net revenues are
spent on user
acquisition 1
34 %
of gross revenue
for large -scale
publishers
vs.
NET RETURN ON MARKETING SPEND AFTER DEDUCTING PLATFORM FEES
21%
35%
49%
78%
• At ~200% Net ROAS, the 80th percentile of
profitable gaming studios can expect to
spend ~50% of net revenues on marketing
• At 139% Net ROAS and below, most studios
can expect to spend 70%+ of net revenues on
marketing
Smaller mobile studios are even more
dependent on marketing funds to scale
revenues and cover operating expenses
Given the high UA investment requirement, traditional VC funding is simply not enough
Marketing Investment

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$1.8
$2.9
$7.6
$6.8
$13.6
$1.2
–
$5.7
$0.1
$0.7
$6.3
7
10
13 12
8 6
–
4
1 2
5
( 3 5)
( 3 0)
( 2 5)
( 2 0)
( 15 )
( 10)
( 5 )
–
5
10
$0 .0
$2 .0
$4 .0
$6.0
$8.0
$10 .0
$12 .0
H1-20 H2-20 H1-21 H2-21 H1-22 H2-22 H1-23 H2-23 H1-24 H2-24 H1-25
Cumulative Upfront EV in M&As ($B) # of M&As and IPOs
Despite M&A recovery, growth capital remains constrained
While Seed rounds remain healthy, follow -on rounds are rare despite strategics seeking scaled assets
Source: InvestGameNote: (1) mobile gaming M&A transactions with upfront EV above $60m; (2) incl. AppLovin deal closed on 1 st July 2025
Control M&A deals 1 and IPOs in mobile gaming Mobile gaming VC -led rounds over 2020 -2025 YTD
~8 % of studios
raised follow -on rounds after
Seed fundraising
$289
$540 $507
$1,261
$630
$198 $190
$306
$75
$147 $135
11 7
18 18 12 6 5 5 7 10 5
16 13
31
23 20 19 25 21 25
11
27
( 12 0)
( 100 )
( 80 )
( 60 )
( 40 )
( 2 0)
–
2 0
4 0
–
2 00
4 00
60 0
8 00
1 0 00
1 2 00
H1-20 H2-20 H1-21 H2-21 H1-22 H2-22 H1-23 H2-23 H1-24 H2-24 H1-25
Seed Deal Value ($m) Series A & B+ Deal Value ($m)
# of Series A & B+ # of Seed
12 IPOs
with $1B+ market cap
at listing date
2

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…leading to a successful and fast exit
Trailblazing a new path to scale: case study
Proved that UA financing works at scale
Source: CTech, Playtika press release; General Catalyst, InvestGame Note: (1) average years to exit among mobile gaming companies with upfront EV $500m+ or $500m+ market cap at listing
$ 2 B exit
Total EV
(incl. earn -out)
ACQUIRED BY
(deal closed in Nov -24)
UA financing
(Customer Value Fund)
$1 $2
$33
$65
$170
$265
0.01 1.1
7.8 7.0
16.4
22.5
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Q2'24 LTM
Revenue ($m) Downloads (m)
20 months
35 months
Omnichannel financing enabled explosive growth…
~$ 50 m
VC capital raised
TIME TO $100m+ ARR
(annualized run -rate
revenues)
~5 years
Founded in 2019
vs.
YEARS TO EXIT
(since inception)
~8 years
Mobile -industry
average among
M&As and IPOs 1
&
~$ 50 m
Capital raised

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Newcomers following this path to scale
Cohort financing enables studios to increase monthly spends and simultaneously grow cash balance
16 % Increase in peak
monthly spends 21 % 259 % 38 %
+$ 3.4 m
Increase in cash
balance since
scaling +$ 1.2 m +$ 850 k +$ 500 k
$ 20 m $ 12 m $ 5 m $ 2.5 m
Financed by
UA financing
amount
Genre Puzzle Word Real -time Strategy Match Merge 2 Turn -based RPG

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1. PvX invests 80 % of company’s CaC 1 via PvX Capital
2. PvX collects 80 % of the net revenues , while the company
keeps 20 % until the CaC is repaid
3. PvX interest charged when Net ROAS = 100 %
4. After interest is paid, the company keeps all future CFs 2
User acquisition financing with
A credit facility secured by the revenues generated by user cohorts acquired during a specific period
Source: PvX Partners
Note: (1) customer acquisition costs; (2) cash flows
Cash flow mechanism
How it works : example of funding cash flows
M1
Cumulative Net ROAS:
CaC
-$800k
-$200k
$200k
$50k
$200k
$50k
$200k
$50k
$250k
$200k
$18k
$32k
25% 50 % 75% 100 % 125%
M2 M3 M4 M5
PvX
Company
Interest
Expense
Key terms
• Funds up to 80% of monthly
marketing expenditure
• Share up to 80% of cohort revenues
until principal is repaid
• 9-12% annualized cash cost
Key benefits
• Unlock UA scale
• No equity dilution
• No share/IP pledge
• No P&L covenants
Legend:

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Filling in a clear growth funding gap in mobile gaming
Cohort -based user acquisition financing unlocks new opportunities to scale at a much faster pace
Source: InvestGame, NewZoo, Omdia, SensorTower, Business of Apps
Disrupting the mobile gaming studio fundraising lifecycle Mobile market growth playbook transformation
Traditional
startup
growth path
+$ 3.2 B
Deployed by
VCs in Series A
and above rounds
since 2020
More accessible
path to exit with
UA financing
Pre -Seed & Seed
Series A
~$ 143 B
Estimated mobile
gaming market size
in 2025E
• Mobile gaming market has returned
to growth, expecting +4% in 2025E, as
industry players have adapted to new
environment
~$ 50 B
Estimated total UA
spending by mobile
gaming companies
• Mobile companies require consistent
user acquisition investments to scale
• Large players spend ~34% of gross
revenue in marketing, whereas smaller
players spend up to 50% gross revenue
+$ 2.5 B
Estimated user
acquisition financing
scale by 2027E
• With scarce VC financing, cohort -based
UA financing has strong potential,
providing mobile studios with an
opportunity to regain growth momentum
Traditional funding New scaling via
UA financing
UA Financing
Exit

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