Nigerian startup Vatar Inc., the developer of the viral browser game Lagos Life, has raised $500,000 in an angel funding round at a $10 million valuation, just days after its incorporation.
The company said the round closed in a single day, attracting investors including Olugbenga Agboola, chief executive officer of Flutterwave, through his investment fund, Resilience17.
Other investors include Oo Nwoye, Nathan Nwachuku, chief executive officer of Terra Industries, and Abdulhamid Hassan, chief executive officer of Mono.
The funding comes as Lagos Life continues to gain traction among Nigerian and international users,
According to Shalom Rayhamen, Vatar’s co-founder and chief executive, the game had attracted 4.3 million users by Thursday evening, October 8, with players from 15 countries. It had also recorded more than 200,000 concurrent players at its peak, she said.
“We built something people love that is growing very fast, so a lot of investors wanted to be involved,” Rayhamen said.
She said the company moved quickly to close the funding round so it could concentrate on developing the product.
The capital will be used for product development, marketing and recruitment as Vatar seeks to expand the game’s audience and introduce new features.
How Lagos Life works
Launched on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Day, Lagos Life is a free life-simulation game that runs in a web browser. Players create characters, find jobs, earn virtual naira, pay rent and interact with other users in a shared digital version of Lagos.
The game incorporates familiar elements of Nigerian urban life, including danfo buses, electricity generators, local businesses and political leadership. Players can also visit virtual versions of recognisable locations, including Quilox nightclub and Amala Shitta.
A distinctive feature allows players to begin their virtual lives as either “Nepo”, with money and connections, or “Lapo”, representing a more financially difficult starting point.
Rayhamen said the feature was introduced following requests from players, although some users have criticised it for promoting class divisions.
Rayhamen said she developed Lagos Life after seeing Lagos Run on X, with the game subsequently attracting millions of users through links shared on social media.
Vatar Generates More Than $170,000
Although Lagos Life is free to play, Vatar generates revenue through advertising, brand partnerships, music promotion, football streaming and the sale of virtual currency.
Businesses can rent billboards and plots within the virtual city, while musicians pay to have their songs played in the game’s clubs.
Food delivery company Chowdeck also features as an app on players’ virtual phones and has partnered with Vatar.
The company said it had earned and contracted more than $170,000 since launch, up from approximately $46,900 during its first four days, according to figures Rayhamen previously shared on X.
Players can also spend real money to top up their virtual cash balances, while payments are processed through Flutterwave.
However, Rayhamen did not disclose the game’s operating costs or confirm whether the business is profitable.
“This is actually a business,” she said, noting that the infrastructure required to support the game is expensive.
Built With Artificial Intelligence
Rayhamen began developing Lagos Life at 9 p.m. on September 30 and released it at 7 a.m. the following morning, after working through the night.
She used artificial intelligence tools for research and coding through Anthropic’s API, drawing on nearly a decade of experience as a software developer specialising mainly in JavaScript for web and mobile applications.
“I’m pro AI,” she said. “I know how to use AI to my advantage.”
Rayhamen co-founded Vatar on October 6 with Owen Rayhamen, the company’s chief product officer, and Anderson Oriahi, its chief business development officer.
She also developed the game while caring for her four-month-old baby, saying she hoped her experience would encourage other mothers to pursue their professional ambitions.
Expansion plans
Vatar has expanded Lagos Life to include Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s oil industry hub, with the city going live in the game around October 6.
Rayhamen declined to disclose the next locations the company plans to introduce, saying she wanted users to anticipate future releases.
She said Vatar would continue improving Lagos Life and introducing features beyond those requested by existing players.
