A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – MOBILE GAMING
- Next Games, developers of The Walking Dead: No Mans Land, closed a funding round of $10M lead by IDG Ventures and Jari Ovaskainen. Link
- Plain Vanilla, developers of Quiz-up game, raised an investment of $7.5M from Glu Mobile in promissory notes convertible into a minority equity stake. Link
- Puzzle Social, developers of crossword puzzle game Daily Celebrity Crossword, raised $5M in a debt round lead by Thayer Bigelow (former president of HBO). Link
- Gameloft (France) and GungHo Entertainment (Japan), two leading digital and social game developers,enter into a strategic alliance to create a digital distribution network for mobile games. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Zebu Games (2015, Bangalore) – Mobile games developer focusing on casual strategy games.Founded by ex-employee of Inmobi, IIT & IIM grads, the company has developed two games Wordmint and Follow the dots.
Winko Games (2015, Barcelona, $1.4M) – Mobile games developer focusing on mid core games. Founded by ex-employees of Google and SocialPoint (Web and mobile casual games developer)
LEADER BOARD – MOBILE GAMING
Game Developers – Casual Games
Zynga (2007, SF, IPO) – Casual video games developer and publisher for mobile and web platforms – famous for games such as Farmville. Went public in 2011.
King (2003, London, IPO, Acq.) – Mobile game developer specializing in casual games – famous for the Candy Crush series. Went public in 2014.Acquired by Activision Blizzard in November 2015.
Rovio Entertainment (2003, Espoo, $42M) – Mobile games developer specializing in casual games – famous for the Angry Birds series. Backed by Accel Partners, Atomico and Felicis Ventures.
Funplus (2010, Beijing, $87M, Acq.) – Video game developer focusing on online and mobile platforms. Backed by Orchid Asia Group Management and Steamboat Ventures.Acquired by Shanghai Zhongji Investment Holding Co in August 2014.
Game Developers – Mid-Core Games
Supercell (2010, Helsinki, $142M, Acq.) – Mobile game developer specializing in mid-core games – famous for games such as Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. Backed by Lifeline Ventures, Accel Partners, Initial Capital, Index Ventures and others. Acquired by SoftBank in October 2013.
GREE (2004, Tokyo, IPO) – Mobile social media and social gaming. Went public in 2008.
Glu Mobile (2001, SF, IPO) – Mobile games developer and publisher specializing in mid-core games. Went public in 2007.
gumi (2007, Tokyo, IPO) – Mobile games developer and publisher specializing in mid-core games. Went public in 2014.
Kabam (2006, SF, $244.5M) – Video game developer and publisher for mobile and web platforms. Backed by Canaan Partners, Betfair, Google Ventures, Pinnacle Ventures and others.
Game Developers – Casino Games
Playtika (2010, Tel Aviv, $1.5M, Acq.) – Video game developer specializing in casino games for mobile and web platforms. Backed by Kaedan Capital Group.
Bash Gaming (2010, Bangalore, $1M, Acq.) – Developer of casino games for social and mobile platforms. Backed by Tandem Capital.
PlayStudios (2011, Burlingame, $29M) – Casino games developer focusing on mobile and social platforms. Backed by Jafco Ventures and MGM Resorts International.
Gaming Platforms
DeNA (1999, Tokyo, IPO) – Provides a mobile social games platform that offers first-, second- and third-party games on multiple localized player networks worldwide. Went public in 2005.
WildTangent Games (1998, Redmond, $100.5M) – Mobile and Web gaming platform. Backed by Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Sony, WPP, Granite Ventures and others.
PlayPhone (2003, San Mateo, $95M) – Mobile gaming platform for social games. Backed by Scale Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital and Coral Capital Management.
Game Publishers
ngmoco (2008, SF, $45M, Acq.) – Mobile Games publisher. Backed by Google Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and others.Acquired by DeNA in October 2010.
Chukong Technologies (2010, Beijing, $83M) – Mobile gaming and publishing platform. Backed by Northern Light Venture Capital, Steamboat Ventures, Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital and others.
6Waves (2008, Hong Kong, $53M) – Video Game publisher focusing on mobile and web platforms. Backed by Insight Venture Partners and Nexon.
Gaming Enablers
Kamcord (2012, SF, $25M) – Web and mobile platform to record and share mobile gameplays. Backed by Y Combinator, Innovation Works, Tencent, IW North America and others.
Unity Technologies (2004, Frederiksberg, $17.5M) – Creator of tools to develop games for multiple platforms. Backed by Sequoia, WestSummit Capital and iGlobe Partners.
Mobcrush (2013, LA, $16M) – Live game broadcasting platform for mobile games. Backed by Rincon Venture Partners, First Round Capital, CAA Ventures, BAM Ventures and others.
Gaming Enablers – Monetization
RockYou (2005, SF, $169M) – Cross-platform premium video ad network for games. Backed by DCM, Partech Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, SoftBank and others.
Swrve (2011, SF, $51M) – In-app marketing platform for mobile apps and games. Backed by Acero Capital, Atlantic Bridge, Intel Capital, Evolution Capital Partners and others.
PlayHaven (2009, SF, $31M, Acq.) -Mobile game monetization platform. Backed by LaunchBox Digital, GGV Capital, e.ventures and others.Acquired by RockYou in May 2015
Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
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