Munich-based venture capital firm Target Partners, in collaboration with High Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Estag Capital, has taken a financial stake in GameGenetics (www.gamegenetics.com), as part of a series-A financing round.
The financial investment is in the seven-digit Euro figure, and will support the Berlin-based aggregator and distributor of free-to-play online games in its planned expansion into the UK and US markets.
GameGenetics GmbH enables game developers and publishers to market more effectively and to speed up their global growth. The company also supports traffic and media partners across the globe with a first-class line of games. GameGenetics works with all the big-name game publishers like Bigpoint, Travian Games, and Ubisoft, marketing a portfolio of approximately 150 high-quality browser and client-based games in over 30 languages. With its B2C portal, POPMOG (www.popmog.com), GameGenetics also operates its own central platform for gamers, who can access the continuously-growing portfolio of popular online games there. The company now plans to partner with more British and US portals and traffic partners, supplying them with a varied portfolio of games and the expertise to optimise traffic monetisation.
Berthold von Freyberg, a partner at Target Partners, is convinced of the firm’s strong growth potential: "The extensive portfolio of free-to-play titles, the strong network of traffic and media partners, and the global approach are truly unique,” he says. “GameGenetics unifies in a single place all the elements that a successful startup needs: The right team, innovative technology, impressive growth, and the opportunity to form and develop a big market segment.”
GameGenetics was founded in 2009 in Berlin. The company’s team of 25 is led by founder and CEO Alexander Piutti: "We are happy that Target Partners, one of Germany’s leading early-stage venture capital firms, shares our vision,” he says. “Together, we will continue our successful course, strongly expanding our distribution strategy, and further strengthening our competency in the area of marketing technology for online games. This investment comes at a key time for us when we are actively expanding our client base in the UK and US.”
Markus Kreßmann, senior investment manager at HTGF, says: "In 2011, GameGenetics had an average monthly revenue growth rate of more than 30 per cent, and was able to greatly expand its games portfolio, which is an impressive team success. High-Tech Gründerfonds, as the previous lead investor, sees in Target Partners the ideal partner to continue that success story.”
