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§ Private Profile · Los Angeles, CA, USA
Remote-first game studio creating multiplayer PVE RPGs, leveraging AI for emergent player-driven narratives.
Jam & Tea Studios, a Los Angeles, California-based remote-first game studio, develops multiplayer role-playing video games with social interaction and player-driven narratives. The venture-backed studio secured $3.15 million in seed funding in October 2023, led by London Venture Partners, including Sisu Game Ventures and 1Up Ventures. Jam & Tea Studios leverages AI and cutting-edge technology to build its flagship title, Project Emily, a session-based multiplayer PVE RPG with player-driven story. Key team members, including COO Sam Bong and Principal Designer Jake Mott, bring prior experience from Riot Games and Wizards of the Coast, having worked on titles such as League of Legends and Magic the Gathering. The company was founded in August 2023 by J Aaron Farr, M Yichao, and T Carl Kwoh.
Jam & Tea Studios has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Jam & Tea Studios has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Jam & Tea Studios has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Jam & Tea Studios's investors include London Venture Partners.
Jam & Tea Studios has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in August 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2023 | $3M Seed | — | London Venture Partners | Announced |
Jam & Tea Studios is a Los Angeles-based video game development studio founded in 2023, specializing in multiplayer games powered by generative AI to enable social interaction, emergent gameplay, and player-driven narratives.[1][2][3] The company builds AI-enhanced social games like *Retail Mage*, where players engage with dynamic AI companions in virtual worlds, serving the social gaming community by solving the problem of repetitive, non-responsive gameplay through infinitely replayable, collaborative adventures.[1][3][6] With a small team of eight, it has raised $3.15 million in seed funding from London Venture Partners and others, showing early momentum via a Steam demo and plans for public release in fall 2024, alongside a more ambitious project called "Project Emily."[6]
Jam & Tea Studios was founded in 2023 by industry veterans J. Aaron Farr (CTO, ex-Singularity 6, Riot Games), M. Yichao (Chief Creative Officer, ex-narrative designer for Guild Wars 2 and League of Legends), and T. Carl Kwoh, drawing from experiences at Phoenix Labs, Wizards of the Coast, Riot Games, and Singularity 6.[3][4][5][6] The idea emerged from their passion for collaborative multiplayer games that create unforgettable shared moments, inspiring them to leverage AI for novel interactions rather than just content generation.[3][6] Early traction came quickly: the remote-first team secured seed funding, joined the AWS Gen AI Accelerator, and developed *Retail Mage* as a tech demo, with larger studios expressing interest in their player-connection-focused approach.[1][3][6][7]
Jam & Tea rides the generative AI wave in gaming, transforming NPCs from scripted bots into responsive companions amid a boom in AI tools for content and simulation.[1][6][7] Timing is ideal as AI models advance rapidly, enabling small teams to compete with giants by focusing on player experiences over volume content creation—market forces like cross-platform demand and investor interest in AI gaming (e.g., seed funding surge) favor them.[3][6] They influence the ecosystem by pioneering "new kinds of play" that prioritize social bonds, inspiring developers via public demos and AWS collaborations, while differentiating from pure AI tools like SuperFragile or NovelAI by embedding tech in full multiplayer games.[1][3]
Jam & Tea's launch of *Retail Mage* on Steam and development of *Project Emily* position it for growth, with plans for a follow-on funding round, cross-platform expansion, and monetization via $15 base game plus packs.[6] Advancing AI models and multiplayer trends will amplify their edge in immersive worlds, potentially scaling their eight-person team as tech matures. Their influence could evolve from niche innovator to ecosystem shaper, redefining social gaming by proving AI enhances human connections in collaborative adventures—echoing their founding mission to brew creativity with tech.