ngmoco
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Investors
Founders
About
ngmoco (“Next Generation Mobile Company”) was a mobile game publisher and developer for iOS and Android, founded in July 2008 by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young 1. The company pioneered free-to-play mobile gaming with its Plus+ social network platform. It was acquired by Japan’s DeNA in October 2010 for up to $400 million ($300M upfront plus $100M earnout) 2.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2008 | Series A | Undisclosed | Kleiner Perkins (iFund) | Maples Investments (Floodgate) 13 |
| Mar 2009 | Series B | $10M | Norwest Venture Partners | Kleiner Perkins, Maples Investments 4 |
| Feb 2010 | Series C | $25M | Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) | Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners, Maples Investments 5 |
| Oct 2010 | Acquisition | $400M (up to) | DeNA | — 2 |
Total raised: $40.6M across three rounds 5. Kleiner Perkins invested just over $10M total and held ~32.7% at exit 6. Co-founders Neil Young and Bob Stevenson each held 9.5% 2.
What Investors Say
“I believed in CEO Neil Young since I saw him bring Ultima Online to market at EA in the 90s. He’s been a more capable first time CEO than I imagined was possible.” — Bing Gordon, Kleiner Perkins partner and ngmoco board member 6
“ngmoco is positioned to lead this next generation mobile internet games space.” — Sandy Miller, IVP General Partner 7
What Founders Say
“We wanted IVP as an investor due to their pre-eminent position in later-stage tech venture investing. They are the gold standard, and Sandy provided sage Board input as we both grew our business & evaluated our strategic alternatives, ultimately culminating in a successful acquisition of ngmoco by DeNA.” — Neil Young, CEO of ngmoco 8
“We didn’t feel like it was possible to build a company of consequence focused on building 99-cent applications.” — Neil Young, on the shift to free-to-play 9
“Their growth curve aligns with ours, and they have experience successfully navigating it.” — Neil Young, on DeNA 9
Sources
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TechCrunch, “Kleiner Perkins’ iFund Invests In Stealth Gaming Startup ngmoco,” July 2008. https://techcrunch.com/2008/07/31/kleiner-perkins-ifund-invests-in-stealth-gaming-startup-ngmoco/↩↩
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TechCrunch, “What Everyone Made From The Ngmoco-DeNa Deal,” October 2010. https://techcrunch.com/2010/10/13/ngmoco-dena-deal/↩↩↩
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VentureBeat, “Ngmoco raises Kleiner Perkins funding for iPhone games, puts Bing Gordon on board,” August 2008. https://venturebeat.com/games/ngmoco-raises-kleiner-perkins-funding/↩
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Norwest Venture Partners, “Norwest Venture Partners Achieves Major Milestones and Plans for Continued Growth,” accessed March 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norwest-venture-partners-achieves-major-milestones-and-plans-for-continued-growth-109883654.html↩
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TechCrunch, “iPhone Game House ngmoco Raises $25 Million Series C, Buys Freeverse,” February 2010. https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/22/ngmoco-25-million-series-c-buys-freeverse/↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Kleiner Perkins Harvests Over $100 Million From Ngmoco Acquisition,” October 2010. https://techcrunch.com/2010/10/12/kleiner-perkins-harvests-over-100-million-from-ngmoco-acquisition/↩↩
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Gamedeveloper.com, “Ngmoco Acquires iPhone Dev Freeverse, Completes $25M Funding Round,” February 2010. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/ngmoco-acquires-iphone-dev-freeverse-completes-25m-funding-round↩
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IVP Portfolio, “ngmoco,” accessed March 2026. https://www.ivp.com/portfolio/ngmoco/↩
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Gamedeveloper.com, “Interview: Behind The $400m Ngmoco-DeNA Deal,” October 2010. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/interview-behind-the-400m-ngmoco-dena-deal↩↩