paidContent.org - The Economics of Content

Current Story

Social Casual Gamer Zynga Raises $10 Million First Round

By Joseph Weisenthal - Tue 15 Jan 2008 07:46 AM PST

SF-based Zynga, a new casual games startup targeting social networks, has raised a $10 million first round led by Union Square Ventures, reports NYT. Other backers include Foundry Group, Avalon, Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman and Bob Pittman. Zynga, founded by veteran entrepreneur Mark Pincus (Tribe.net, SupportSoft), has developed a portfolio of casual games specifically made for play on social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace. The games themselves—classics like poker, blackjack and Battleship—have plenty of competition on these sites, but it’s hoping to exploit the social networking environment to a greater degree than others have. The company, which makes money selling links and helping other developers get users, claims to already be breakeven. USV partner Fred Wilson discusses the investment at the firm’s blog.

Posted in: Entertainment, Gaming, Social Media, VC+M&A, Venture Capital



Related Research from Alacrastore.com
1 Response:
Post Your Comment

Mobile Options

» Mobile App
» Mobile/WAP Site

Send a News Tip

About

paidContent.org, flagship of the ContentNext Media network, provides global coverage of the business of digital content.

Rafat Ali
Publisher & Co-Editor

Staci D. Kramer
Co-Editor

David Kaplan
Senior Correspondent

Joseph Weisenthal
Correspondent

Robert Andrews
U.K. Editor

Amanda Natividad
Editorial Producer

Online Ad Deals Report

Social Media Report

New Media/Interactive Job Listings

Post Job
More Jobs

Generous Supporters