TinyCo nets $18m in investment
Company plans growth following Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz
Mobile games developer TinyCo has confirmed it has secured a Series A funding round to the tune of $18 million, led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The company has so far released Tiny Chef and Tap Resort Party for iPhone, which have been downloaded more than 10 million times feature among the top-grossing products on the App Store.
It plans to add more staff and more titles to its portfolio with the cash injection, while Marc Andreessen has joined the board. Ben Horowitz, Ron Conway and Keith Rabois are now all listed as company advisors.
On his official blog, Ben Horowitz outlined the reasons for the investment as the size of the overall market, the execution of the company's titles and described TinyCo co-founder Suli Ali as a "phenomenal entrepreneur".
"Although web-based gaming and mobile gaming may be different, much can still be learned in mobile from the explosive web gaming market and TinyCo has done just that," he wrote. "In their initial games, TinyCo takes the best elements of Facebook gaming - continuous product updates and content additions, virtual currency and goods, and constant, relentless review of user data to improve the overall experience - and optimises them for mobile devices."
"This approach has delivered stunning early numbers. TinyCo's early games, Tiny Chef and Tap Resort, have been downloaded over 10 million times. They both reached the top five in the App Store and generated enough revenue to profitably build the company to 40 employees with no invested capital."
No further detail on the ultimate extent of the company's planned growth was released, although more than 20 vacancies are listed on the San Francisco-based firm's website.