Croatian gaming cafe franchise Friendly Fire has raised €4,7 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm AYMO Ventures.
Announced in August 2026, the capital injection will accelerate the company’s operational scaling, strengthen its global marketing and sales capabilities, and support an aggressive international location pipeline.
Also read:
- Agency GMD secures partnership to lead Riot Games esports sales in Brazil
- paiN Gaming to relocate to new facility in Sao Paulo
- DRX invests beyond esports into K-dramas and game publishing
The investment directly supports Friendly Fire’s mid-term growth pipeline, which includes opening three new locations in September 2026 alone. Founder David Kosir confirmed to The Esports Radar that the franchise has already secured approximately 200 new venues scheduled to open over the next five years.
While Europe remains the brand’s primary operational stronghold and immediate scaling priority, the company is seeing accelerated franchise inquiry volume from the United States, as well as long-term interest across Gulf countries.
“This investment is a big boost to our operations, and we project using the proceeds to increase our potential to open more locations, as well as to enhance the capabilities of our marketing and sales teams,” said Kosir, “Europe is our stronghold, and I think that’s the easiest and fastest way for us to expand.”
The financing round builds upon several commercial and executive milestones for the brand since 2025. Friendly Fire previously laid the groundwork for European expansion by signing Master Franchise agreements across the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, and Ukraine to establish over 100 locations. The company also added former League of Legends esports pro Luka “Perkz” Perković to its ownership group as a strategic advisor and brand ambassador, alongside announcing its entry into the U.S. market with initial multi-unit launches targeted in Florida and Texas.
“Friendly Fire is focused on a market that has always been fragmented and local, and it’s giving that market a genuinely connected system. Alongside the operational know-how, the technology layer is the part that’s easiest to overlook from the outside, and it’s precisely what turns a good gaming cafe into a network that gets stronger with every new opening. It matters just as much that this is a team that proved the model at its own locations, with its own money, before offering it to anyone else. We’re looking forward to working with David and his team through this next phase of growth,” AYMO Ventures added in a press release.
AYMO Ventures is a Zagreb-based venture capital firm focused on early and growth-stage tech startups across Croatia and Southeast Europe. Other recent investments by the firm include influencer marketing automation platform Hypefy and AI platform Yure.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with details about the investment amount and a quote from AYMO Ventures, provided in a press release received after publication.
