Green Throttle Games™ Secures $6 Million To Reinvent TV Gaming On Mobile Devices

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Throttle Games™, a new video game publisher and maker of the upcoming Atlas wireless game controller, today announced it has secured $6 million in Series A funding led by Trinity Ventures with participation from DCM. Ajay Chopra, general partner at Trinity Ventures, joins the Board. The investment will be used to develop internal games, support external development, and advance software services as Green Throttle reimagines mobile gaming on big-screen TVs.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121204/SF23400)

Green Throttle Games was co-founded by Charles Huang, co-creator of the legendary Guitar Hero video game franchise, and mobile industry veterans Matt Crowley, former Palm and Nokia product lead, and Karl Townsend, lead engineer for the first two generations of the Palm Pilot. 

The global video game market is roughly $60 Billion per year and games played on TV (mostly via current consoles) make up about half of that.  Green Throttle aims to bring the excitement of side-by-side multiplayer gaming to the family room, using the rapidly expanding power of mobile devices.

"We believe a large percentage of consumers will use their phones or tablets to play games on a TV, and mobile-to-TV gaming could quickly grow to surpass the console market," said Charles Huang, co-founder and CEO of Green Throttle Games. "By building a straightforward way to enjoy mobile games together with your friends, we hope to revolutionize how mobile games are played."

The Green Throttle Arena app will provide a central hub to find and highlight games developed both by Green Throttle, and other independent developers and publishers. Green Throttle is already working with emerging and veteran development studios including nWay, Free Range Games, Mercenary Technology and Monstrous.

"The ability to play mobile games on a big screen TV is very attractive, and Green Throttle's leadership is well poised to bring in the kind of top quality games and industry connections that are needed to turn the Atlas controller and Green Throttle's solution into a household name.  I have always surrounded myself with entrepreneurs who know how to delight their end users and Green Throttle aims to do just that," said Ajay Chopra, general partner at Trinity Ventures. 

"Advancements of the last several years have redefined consumers' experiences on mobile devices. I believe that in the next 24 months, the smartphone will reach beyond the few inches of its own display to massively disrupt and cross over to previously independent platforms. I am thrilled to be working with such experienced innovators in reinventing the living room gaming experience," said Jason Krikorian, general partner at DCM.

Green Throttle Games was founded by three executives experienced in creating industry-changing innovations in mobile devices, video games and game peripherals. CEO Charles Huang popularized the rhythm game revolution by creating a wireless guitar controller that made it possible for people to unleash their inner rockstar with their friends playing "Guitar Hero." Guitar Hero became a $1B franchise under his leadership. President and COO Matt Crowley helped to bring the Palm Pre to life, along with leading innovative teams at Nokia. CTO Karl Townsend was one of the original creators of the Handspring and Palm Treo smartphones, some of the first devices to bring mobile email to a mass market. Together, these three founders bring experience in gaming, hardware and software to create a winning combination for Green Throttle Games.

About Trinity Ventures
Founded in 1986, Trinity Ventures is a boutique, early stage venture capital firm dedicated to partnering with passionate entrepreneurs to transform revolutionary ideas into reality. With over $1 billion under management, Trinity Ventures believes in personal engagement, mutual respect and goal alignment with the entrepreneurs. Trinity focuses on early stage and seed technology investments with particular emphasis on social commerce and entertainment, digital media, SaaS, and cloud and infrastructure.

Trinity Ventures has invested in more than 100 ventures, including such leading companies as 21Vianet (VNET) Affinity Labs (acquired by Monster.com), Aruba Networks (ARUN), BeachMint, Bix (acquired by Yahoo!: YHOO), Blue Nile (NILE), Crescendo Communications (acquired by Cisco: CSCO), Extreme Networks (EXTR), Forte Software (FRTE), Infoblox, IntruVert Networks (acquired by Network Associates: NWK), KIXEYE, LoopNet (LOOP), Modulus Video (acquired by Motorola: MOT), Network Alchemy (acquired by Nokia: NOK), Photobucket (acquired by News Corporation: NWS), SciQuest, Speedera Networks (acquired by Akamai Technologies: AKAM), Starbucks (SBUX), Sygate Technologies (acquired by Symantec: SYMC), Trion Worlds, Wall Data (WALL), and Zulily.

About DCM
DCM is an early stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Tokyo with more than $2 billion under management. DCM has investments in more than 140 technology companies across the United States and Asia and provides hands-on operational guidance and a global network of business and financial resources. DCM has backed industry-leading companies such as 51job, About.com, Clearwire, eDreams, Foundry Networks, Kabu.com, Sling Media, SMIC, and VanceInfo as well as upcoming startups such as Bill.com, Bridgelux, Happy Elements, PapayaMobile and Trion Worlds. Recent successes include China-based IPOs: Renren, BitAuto, DangDang, Luxin and VIPShop and US-based M&A and IPOs: Fortinet, PGP (Symantec) and Sandforce (LSI).

About Green Throttle Games
Green Throttle Games, Inc. is a Santa Clara, CA based company that develops high-quality, innovative games and hardware for mobile devices.  The company's founders Charles Huang, Matt Crowley and Karl Townsend, visionaries from the video game and mobile industries teamed up to unlock the potential of mobile on the big screen, connecting people and platforms in a way that is simple and fun.  More information about Green Throttle Games is available on the company's website at www.greenthrottle.com.

For Information Contact:
Brian Kemp
Sparkpr for Green Throttle Games
[email protected]
415-321-1860

SOURCE Green Throttle Games