Kabam Raises $30M For Acquisitions, Studio Expansion, And More Social Games

Kabam, a developer of massively multiplayer social games, announced it raised $30 million in a series C round that will fund future acquisitions, new titles, and the firm's further expansion. The round was led by Redpoint Ventures and Intel Capital while Canaan Partners, a previous backer that incubated Kabam at the start-up's seed stage, also participated. This new investment brings the developer's total cash raised to $39.5 million. Originally founded in late 2006 under the name Watercooler, Kabam is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. The company has studios in San Francisco, Beijng, and Saarbrucken (Germany), and rapidly grew its headcount last year from 20 employees to now 200. Kabam has nearly 7.7 million monthly users on Facebook playing titles like Kingdoms of Camelot, Dragons of Atlantis and Glory of Rome. It focuses on creating titles that allow people to play with and against each other in real-time and in persistent game worlds. The company says it has several titles launching in early 2011, and that this $30 million will go toward further expanding its existing studios, producing more original and branded social games, and making "targeted acquisitions" similar to its Wonderhill purchase last October. "Kabam has pursued a distinctly different strategy than other social game companies. Rather than target 'casual' players, we are focused on creating a new segment of games that appeal to a more core gamer demographic," says Kabam CEO Kevin Chou. "This infusion of capital enables us to further our aggressive growth plans."