Investment is m8 Capital’s first US Deal
June 1, 2011. London. m8 Capital announced today an investment in Austin based mobile and social game publisher, Portalarium.
London-based m8 Capital led this investment round together with San Francisco-based Founders Fund. Today’s investment takes the total funding raised to date by Portalarium to $3.6 million.
Following a year of investments in European based companies, this is m8 Capital’s first investment in a US based business.
Portalarium is the latest game publishing company to be launched by Richard Garriott, the legendary game developer. A 2006 inductee into the game developer Hall of Fame, Richard has been a major force in the gaming/games industry, having founded and successfully sold his two previous companies, Origin, sold to Electronic Arts in 1992 and Destination Games sold to NCsoft in 2001.
Portalarium, headquartered in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2009 with the goal of developing mobile and social games, virtual worlds and related programming and services. Its aim is to create an open ecosystem of mobile and social gamers, fully integrated into existing social networks and gaming communities while fully enabled by latest developments in mobile devices and platforms.
Following the investment, the company will launch its first major title release, a brand new and unique social media game, in the coming months.
“We are delighted to join Richard Garriott and the Portalarium team in creating the next great gaming company. Richard is one of the giants of the industry. He's a proven entrepreneur and has been a driving force at each of the industry’s major turning points," said Joseph Kim, General Partner of m8 Capital, the London-based mobile-focused venture fund.
"Following a year of successful European investments, it’s a significant milestone for m8 Capital to make our first investment in the States,” he continued.
“With m8 Capital and Founders Fund, we have the investment resources in place with two very key partners who are prepared to help us grow and scale our company to meet the opportunities found currently in social media and mobile platforms,” said Portalarium CEO Fred Schmidt. “m8 Capital also provides an important international role as we shape our strategy for the European market while Founders Fund has been invaluable in keeping us solidly connected to the social media scene that has coalesced in the Bay Area.
“Founders Fund is extremely pleased to continue its support for Portalarium,” said Founders Fund’s Brian Singerman. “Starting new companies and transforming them into extraordinary successes is nothing new to Richard Garriott and his team and we expect Portalarium will continue their exceptional 30 year track record.”
Richard Garriott
Richard developed one of the industry’s most important and enduring franchises, the Ultima Series. He has played a key role in some of the industry’s noteworthy innovations, including online games and massively multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPGs. His Ultima Online game, launched in 1997 is the first commercially successful MMORPG and is still going strong today as a service of Electronic Arts.
