Social Games Developer Funzio Secures $20M In Funding

Social games developer Funzio has secured $20 million in funding from a Series A financing round led by IDG Ventures and IDG Capital Partners to create cross-platform Facebook, iOS and Android games. The Crime City creator was granted funding by IDG Ventures in the U.S. and IDG Capital Partners in China. The companies also noted that IDG Ventures managing director Phil Sanderson will join the board, while Rick Thompson, Playdom co-founder and chairman of Funzio's board, also participated in this round of funding. Funzio launched its first game Crime City in September 2010 last year, which became one of the top five games of 2010 on Facebook. The game currently has over 750,000 active players, and more than 7 million players each month. A version for mobile is also planned for later this year. The company plans to use the funding to triple its team, allowing it to essentially launch more games more rapidly. Job openings are currently available in engineering, art and product positions. Ken Chiu, co-founder and CEO of Funzio, said, "At Funzio, we're passionate about building phenomenal games that people love playing." "We feel very fortunate to have Phil Sanderson join our board because he shares our values and vision -- creating awesome cross-platform games for Facebook, iOS and Android."