Ryta Zasiekina, founder of breakthrough fintech project Concryt, has announced her status as an angel investor to another innovative startup which aligns with both her mission to support fledgling businesses and her passion for emerging technologies.

A qualified engineer, in 2021, Ryta obtained an MBA degree with a strong emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI). In recent months, she has been looking for opportunities to become an angel investor for fledging AI, cybersecurity, and fintech businesses operating online.

Earlier this year she was approached by Manerai, a California-based VR studio specializing in game development. The business was founded by a 27-year-old game designer with almost a decade of experience in the industry. His love of VR and game development has led to the creation of Wadality, a unique VR movement system that allows players to freely explore game levels in any direction.

Manerai’s most recently released game organically gained more than 200,000 players in VR and received a 4.9 out of 5 review from players around the world, bringing it to the attention of partners at Meta and a request to take the game into the lucrative Chinese market.

Manerai’s latest project is a social role-play collaboration game called GNOMES. Described as ‘the ultimate VR role-playing game’, it promises immersive multiplayer gameplay that encourages teamwork and problem-solving.  To help the firm reach the next level of development, Ryta has invested 300K USD.

Commenting on the investment, Ryta said:

“As an angel investor, I’m thrilled to support this innovative VR gaming venture that is redefining the boundaries of immersive entertainment. Manerai is at the forefront of VR gaming, and I am beyond excited to help them reach their next level of growth. Virtual reality has the power to transform how we experience games, and this team is at the forefront of that evolution. I believe their creativity, vision, and technical expertise will shape the future of gaming, and I’m excited to be part of their journey as they push the limits of what’s possible."

As of 2023, there are 65.9 million VR users in the U.S., with an estimated 171 million VR users worldwide. ManerAI aims to share skills and useful information with others operating in the VR gaming space and, as such, has several open-source libraries.

Manerai added:

“Our overall mission is not just to create a game, but a virtual community where players themselves can self-organize, create content, tasks, missions and goals. Our unique vision for VR games is to focus on comfort and fun, and to make all in-game mechanics behave as expected. We have a clear direction and know what we need to do to maximize the strength of the game organically, helped by the fact we are now actively accompanied by our advisors at New Folder Games, market leaders in VR games. We are incredibly grateful to Ryta for her interest and investment in the business; it will be crucial as we continue to expand our team, test new hypotheses and products, and increase player numbers.”

The announcement follows Ryta’s investment in Teramot earlier this year. Teramot is a plug-and-play Data Engineering and Data Analytics tool that allows businesses to organize and take advantage of their information without a dedicated team in a week.