Booyah Closes 20M Round Lead By Accel
By Azam on May 17, 2010 
Booyah, creator of the popular location-based mobile app MyTown, has closed a $20 million round of financing and added renowned investor, Jim Breyer to its Board of Directors. Led by Accel Partners, a premier global venture firm with investments in technology-driven social media, advertising and mobile services, the new financing will be utilized to ignite and accelerate the company’s real and digital world offerings. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and DAG Ventures also participated in the round.
Since launching in December, MyTown rocketed upwards of more than 2 million users growing at over 100,000 new users week over week. MyTown passed 60 million check-ins and 250 million virtual item impressions a month. An immersive and addicting experience, users of MyTown spend an average of 70 minutes per day, establishing Booyah as the leader in real-world interactive entertainment.
“Booyah is at the epicenter of the fastest growing markets today–mobile, social, and interactive gaming,” stated Jim Breyer, Partner, Accel Partners. “Not only are they a next-generation entertainment company, but they are bridging the gap between consumers and businesses. The Booyah management team has both the passion and talent to innovate and create a wholly unique experience.”
Breyer currently is the lead & presiding Director of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, (WMT), a Director of Dell, Inc (DELL), and a long-time investor & board member of companies such as Brightcove, Facebook, Etsy, and Marvel Entertainment (MVL).
“We are thrilled to work with a world-class partner such as Accel Partners with their experience across social, mobile and entertainment, said Keith Lee, CEO, Booyah. “The combination of Jim’s expertise in real world retail and cutting edge digital media mirrors our dedication to creating the most compelling real-world experiences. MyTown is a bold step to achieving this goal and we have very exciting plans in the near future to move far beyond the check-in.”
Unique to Booyah is their ability to blur the lines between the real and digital worlds. With extensive experience in the traditional gaming industry and cutting-edge mobile technologies, Booyah is poised to create new forms of entertainment for the masses and revolutionize the consumer experience. In the massively popular app MyTown users can check in at real-world locations using GPS features to unlock rewards. Players can purchase, upgrade and collect rent on their properties, enjoying MyTown ownership of their favorite real-life places.
About Booyah
Booyah, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., is dedicated to creating new forms of entertainment to the masses by bringing together elements of the real world and the digital world. The entire development team draws its creativity not only from highly respected studios, including Blizzard Entertainment, Activision, EA and Insomniac Games, but also from a vast array of industries, such as the semi-conductor, consumer web and social gaming space. The Company is financed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ iFund, DAG Ventures, and Accel Partners. Learn more at www.booyah.com.
About Accel Partners
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners is dedicated to partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class companies. With over $6 billion under management, Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful category-defining companies including: Admob, Alfresco, Arrowpoint, Baidu, BBN, Brightcove, ComScore, Etsy, Facebook, Focus Media, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, JBoss, Kayak, Macromedia, metroPCS, Portal Software, QlikTech, Raptr, Real Networks, Redback Networks, Riverbed, Sohu.com, SunRun, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, XenSource, and Zimbra and others. For more information, visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com.
Tags : , Accel, Blizzard Entertainment, jim breyer, Keith Lee, KPCB, MyTown