Portalarium Flush with Cash
There's good news for Richard Garriott fans: his company, Portalarium, has been awarded $7 million in financing by m8 Capital. This money will finish the company's promising Ultimate Collector, due out this summer, and allow work to begin in earnest on the spiritual successor to Garriott's famed Ultima series. Here's the press release:
Portalarium Closes $7 Million Series A Round
m8 Capital Leads Round for Austin-Based Mobile and Social Game Company led by Legendary Designer Richard Garriott de Cayeux
AUSTIN, Texas, July 10, 2012—Portalarium™, an Austin-based publisher and developer of premium quality games for mobile platforms and social networks announces the closing of its Series A financing. The $7 million round is led by m8 Capital, a London-based venture capital firm focusing on mobile technology investments. FF Angel of San Francisco, BHV Venture Capital of New York, and Portalarium co-founder Richard Garriott de Cayeux are also participating in the round, among others.
Portalarium will invest the proceeds from the Series A financing in the final development stages of its first feature product, Ultimate Collector®, scheduled for release this summer on Facebook, browser and mobile platforms. Funding from the Series A round will also be used to launch production of Garriott’s much anticipated role-playing game, Ultimate RPG / New Britannia (working title), scheduled for release primarily on mobile platforms.
“Following our early stage investment in Portalarium, announced in June 2011, we’re pleased to further our commitment to Richard Garriott and to Portalarium,” said m8 Capital General Partner, Joseph Kim. “Richard is one of the legendary developers in the gaming industry and his vision for this next era of mobile and social gaming will firmly position Portalarium as an industry leader. We are looking forward to a successful launch of the company’s next game, Ultimate Collector, and to see how Richard will redefine the role-playing genre for the mobile-era.”
“This is an important step for the growth of our company,” said Garriott. “We are grateful for the confidence m8 Capital and Founders Fund have placed in our team and we believe gamers will ultimately reap the benefits from this partnership when they get a chance to play Ultimate Collector and see the unique mobile and social games that we are creating at Portalarium.”
Portalarium's Series A funding shortly follows the June 26th announcement by Zynga, the world's largest mobile/social gaming platform, that Portalarium will be joining the new Zynga Platform Partners publishing program with products to be announced later.
About Portalarium
Portalarium is revolutionizing role-playing games for mobile and social media platforms. Formed in September of 2009 in Austin, Texas, Portalarium is developing and publishing premium online games and virtual worlds for mobile platforms and popular social networks. Portalarium games maximize the fun and social play experience between friends, making it is easy to find each other and play together regardless of where you are or what you are playing. For more information about Portalarium, go to www.portalarium.com.
About m8 Capital
m8 Capital is a London-based VC fund that invests exclusively in mobile technology. m8 Capital looks to support entrepreneurs and companies that are positioning themselves at the forefront of all things mobile. Other investments in m8 Capital’s portfolio include mobile ticketing company Masabi, next generation mobile publishing company 955 Dreams and Aylus Networks™, the leading enabler of video communication services over mobile networks
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