Viral Lagos Life Developer Vatar Raises $500,000 at $10m Valuation

By Adedapo Adesanya

Vatar Incorporated, the developer of the viral Nigerian browser game Lagos Life, has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding at a $10 million valuation, just days after its incorporation, as the startup seeks to expand its product and strengthen its operations.

According to TechCabal, the funding round closed in a day, with investors including Flutterwave chief executive, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, through his investment fund, Resilience17.

Other participants include angel investor, Mr Oo Nwoye, Mr Nathan Nwachuku, the chief executive of Terra Industries, and Mr Abdulhamid Hassan of Mono.

Founded on October 6, 2026, by Miss Shalom Rayhamen, Mr Owen Rayhamen and Mr Anderson Oriahi, Vatar plans to deploy the proceeds towards product development, marketing and recruitment.

Lagos Life, which launched on October 1, has attracted millions of users with its simulation of everyday life in Nigeria’s commercial capital, allowing players to create characters, secure jobs, earn virtual naira, pay rent and interact with others in a shared digital city.

The viral game has recorded over 4.3 million users from 15 countries. It has also attracted more than 100,000 active players at a time, with peak concurrent users exceeding 200,000.

Nigeria accounts for the largest share of its audience, followed by users in the United States, United Kingdom, Ghana, Canada and the Netherlands.

Miss Rayhamen, who serves as Vatar’s chief executive, told TechCabal that the rapid growth prompted the company to conclude its funding round quickly to allow the team to concentrate on improving the product.

The game emerged amid growing interest in Nigerian-made browser games following the popularity of Lagos Run, a game centred on driving a danfo bus through Lagos. Miss Rayhamen developed Lagos Life after encountering Lagos Run on social media.

Built with the support of artificial intelligence tools, the game incorporates familiar Nigerian experiences, including power outages, public transportation, employment and local entertainment spots.

Players can also participate in a virtual political system in which they choose who occupies leadership positions in the game’s simulated city.

Vatar has begun monetising the platform through advertising, music promotion, commercial partnerships, football streaming and the sale of virtual currency. Businesses can rent billboards and plots within the digital city, while musicians pay to have their songs played in its virtual clubs.

Food delivery company Chowdeck is among the brands integrated into the game, appearing as an application on players’ virtual phones.

Miss Rayhamen told TechCabal that Vatar had earned and contracted more than $170,000 in revenue since the game’s launch, up from approximately $46,900 recorded in its first four days.

However, she declined to disclose the platform’s operating costs or confirm whether the business was profitable.

The company has also introduced age verification and user-protection features, including message screening, reporting and blocking tools, in response to concerns about content moderation and safety as the platform expands.

Miss Rayhamen, a software developer with nearly a decade of experience, said she built the initial version of Lagos Life overnight using artificial intelligence for research and coding.

The game was inspired partly by The Sims 3, a life-simulation game she played as a child, and the desire to create a digital environment reflecting everyday Nigerian life.

Vatar has since expanded the game to include Port Harcourt, with plans to introduce additional locations as it develops the platform.

She said the company intends to move beyond the features users already expect by introducing new experiences as the game matures.