Despite the crisis in the market, Oberon Media, the Israeli-US startup leading the casual gaming industry, has announced a $20 million round raised from Infinity Equity’s I-China Fund, a venture fund focusing on Israeli-Chinese related opportunities. With this strategic partnership Oberon is looking to expand its success to China.
The investment plays a strategic role in Oberon’s penetration to China. According to Oberon’s Chairman Tal Keret, the Chinese casual gaming market has the potential to be the largest out of the the US. Infinity estimates the country’s emerging gaming market at $2 billion annually with an approximate of 50 million users.
Amir Gal-Or, managing partner of the Infinity I-China Fund, commented in the official Press Release:
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We have identified the gaming field as a strategic cluster for investments. China, which has a strong and rapidly growing local gaming market with more than $2B in annual sales and 50 million users, is building a reputation as an emerging site for game development studios. The Oberon Media investment, our flagship deal within the gaming cluster, is meant to serve as our cornerstone and a model for future Infinity I-China investments
VC Cafe previously covered PixelPlay. From its headquarters in New York, Oberon distributes casual games under the I-play brand across platforms including: online portals, mobile and interactive TV platforms as well as traditional game sales in retail outlets. The company has placed partnerships with large distribution channels including Microsoft, Comcast, Verizon, Electronic Arts and MySpace
The Infinity I-China Fund has over $600 million under management through three separate funds, with a global portfolio of 45 companies. Infinity Israel-China is the fund’s second largest fund operates offices in Tel-Aviv, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Suzhou and New York. Among its investors are the Chinese Development Bank and Israel’s IDB Holding Group.
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I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
