GameSalad Raises $6.1 Million in Funding and Advances Mission of Bringing Game Creation to Everyone

AUSTIN, Texas, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GameSalad Inc., which empowers aspiring and established game designers to easily develop casual games, today announced that it has raised $6.1 million in a second round of funding, led by Steamboat Ventures, with participation from Greycroft Partners, DFJ Mercury, DFJ Frontier and ff Asset Management.  The new financing will be used to grow GameSalad's technical and product teams and further develop the popular game creation technology to expand the company's footprint in web and mobile games.

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"We are focused on growing GameSalad into a world-class gaming company," said Steve Felter, CEO of GameSalad.  "By making game creation accessible to anyone with a passion for games, we've empowered a new breed of game designers through GameSalad.  We'll continue to build on this momentum in 2011 and unveil some exciting new technologies that will bring people together through the creation, sharing and playing of games."

In conjunction with the latest financing round, Beau Laskey, managing director at Steamboat Ventures, has joined GameSalad's board of directors alongside existing director Blair Garrou from DFJ Mercury, who led the company's initial seed round.  Dana Settle, partner at Greycroft Partners, joins as a board observer.

"We are thrilled to partner with such an exciting company and talented leadership team," said Laskey.  "We believe that GameSalad's disruptive technology is creating an entirely new set of opportunities for game enthusiasts.  By putting powerful creative tools in the hands of anyone who wants to make games, GameSalad is changing the way people interact with entertainment."

GameSalad is the largest game development tool for Apple's iOS devices.  With GameSalad, game makers can rapidly design, publish and distribute original games for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Web without needing to write a line of code.  To date, GameSalad's free-to-use, drag-and-drop game creation platform has been used to create over 8,500 games, including more than 30 top 100 U.S. Games in Apple's App Store.

About GameSalad Inc.

GameSalad is a community that empowers everyone to express and share their ideas through games.  GameSalad provides a platform that allows creators to rapidly design, publish and distribute original games for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Web.  Founded in 2007, GameSalad is a privately held company with studios in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California.

About Steamboat Ventures

With offices in Los Angeles, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Steamboat Ventures is a global venture capital fund that invests in digital media, consumer and technology companies in the U.S. and Asia. Steamboat Ventures pursues a distinctive investment strategy, cultivating investment opportunities that are simultaneously financially promising and also possess the potential to be of significant strategic interest to the media and entertainment industry. Founded in 2000, Steamboat Ventures has invested in a range of leading digital media and consumer technology companies, including: Fastclick (acquired by VCLK), Pure Digital Technologies (acquired by CSCO), Quigo Technologies (acquired by TWX), Freewheel, Duowan, Yoyi, and Shangpin.com. For more information, please visit: http://www.steamboatvc.com.

About Greycroft Partners

Greycroft Partners is a venture capital partnership formed to invest in promising digital media companies, including both business and consumer-focused ventures. The firm's $130.7 million fund includes participation from leading corporate executives around the world. Greycroft invests between $500,000 and $5 million at inception, increasing on a staged basis to double that amount over time.  We invest alone or alongside other firms, and will accept a board seat when appropriate, although this is not a prerequisite when syndicating with others. Our portfolio companies benefit from active, hands-on assistance in all phases of expansion, including marketing, financing, and management development. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, we also leverage an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help our investees gain visibility, build strategic relationships, and successfully bring their products to market.

About DFJ Mercury

DFJ Mercury is a seed and startup venture capital firm.  Headquartered in Houston, Texas, DFJ Mercury invests in compelling and novel information technology and science-based startup opportunities.  DFJ Mercury seeks to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs to build globally competitive businesses, focusing on technology innovation in the U.S. Midcontinent.  Our team has broad experience and relationships with tech transfer offices and regional technology incubators, and appreciates hard science with solid intellectual property.  Our firm has a particular focus on university spin-outs and incubation, often investing prior to a business plan or management team being formed.  DFJ Mercury is a partner in the DFJ Global Network of venture funds.  For more information, please visit: www.dfjmercury.com

About DFJ Frontier

Headquartered in Los Angeles, DFJ Frontier is a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early stage companies on the west coast. DFJ Frontier backs passionate entrepreneurs in a broad array of industries, including information technology, life sciences, clean technology, and other emerging businesses. The firm typically leads the first round of investment, taking an active role to help entrepreneurs build extraordinary businesses. DFJ Frontier is a Partner Fund of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and has offices in Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento and Santa Barbara. For more information, please visit: www.dfjfrontier.com

About ff Asset Management

ff Asset Management is focused on companies that can be the low cost disruptive player in their industry. These companies, coupled with the right management team and adequate financing, have the chance to grow significantly and become tomorrow's leaders. The firm targets market entry opportunities with initial investments below $1 million. ff Asset Management president John Frankel has served on a number of boards including Alerts.com, ClearPath Immigration, The Goldman Sachs Trust Company, Klout, Patents.com, Quigo Technologies. StrongTech and Track.com, and is a member of the board of advisors of Phone.com and OrcaOne. For more information, please visit: www.ffassetmanagement.com

SOURCE GameSalad Inc.