Mforma to raise $40 million in new funding

Washington State based wireless game publisher Mforma has announced that it's to run a second round of venture capital funding, aimed at raising an additional $40 million for the company.

This second round, which will include investment from existing corporate investors General Catalyst Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as new VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, will add to the $44 million raised last June.

"This round, plus our previous funding, gives us as much capital as if we had gone public," according to CEO Daniel Kranzler, "yet we still have the flexibility of a private company to innovate in our business."

Going public is, of course, a hot topic in the mobile gaming space at the moment, as key mobile game and content publisher JAMDAT prepares for an IPO later this year.

Mforma, which claims to have over half a billion users on 100 mobile networks, has a line-up of titles which includes classics such as Puzzle Bobble and Space Invaders, as well as Tecmo's wireless sports title Tecmo Bowl.