Croatian gaming cafe franchisor Friendly Fire closed a $4.7 million Series A as it pushes into the U.S. with 178 locations in its pipeline.
Zagreb-based gaming cafe franchisor Friendly Fire closed a $4.7 million Series A round with Croatian venture firm AYMO Ventures, its first disclosed institutional investment. The company operates 22 company and franchise locations across six countries and has signed 31 franchise agreements representing a pipeline of 178 additional locations in 11 countries.
The round funds Friendly Fire's technology platform and day-to-day operations rather than construction of new locations, which franchisees fund themselves at a cost of roughly $218,000 to $391,000 per site including a $49,500 franchise fee. That distinction matters for prospective operators: the capital buys the training, support and technology layer franchisees pay into, not the buildings they open in.
Friendly Fire is targeting Florida and Texas for its first U.S. locations and says it will only accept multi-unit operators stateside, with a first opening targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The company's largest committed deal, a 100-unit master franchise agreement covering the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland and Ukraine signed in May 2025, has yet to open a single location, a reminder that signed pipelines and open doors are different metrics.
Gaming cafes remain a niche category in U.S. franchising, and Friendly Fire's entry tests whether an operating model proven in Central Europe translates to American real estate costs and consumer habits. Multi-unit operators evaluating the brand should weigh the gap between signed agreements and open locations before committing capital.
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