PlayLab secures $5m in Series B funding from Monk's Hill
Playlab, the Hong Kong-owned mobile gaming house responsible for Juice Cubes, has secured US$5 million (Bt176 million) in Series B funding through the Southeast Asia-focused venture-capital firm Monk's Hill Ventures.
The funding will be used to propel Playlab, which also has studios in Thailand and the Philippines with Singapore distribution, to the forefront of Southeast Asia’s mobile gaming marketplace, building operations across the region, said Jakob Lykkegaard Pedersen, Playlab co-founder and chief executive officer.
This round, one of the largest secured by a mobile gaming firm in Southeast Asia, comes on the back of Playlab achieving growth of 850 per cent over 2014 and will drive Playlab’s international expansion.
After last year’s acquisition of Manila-based game developer Anino Games (Anino Playlab), Playlab will continue to focus on growth in Southeast Asia. The fastest-growing mobile-entertainment company in the region, Playlab has seen its staff increase from 20 to more than 100 in the past year to keep up with game-development demand.
According to Forest & Sullivan, Southeast Asia’s mobile-gaming revenue is forecast to exceed $7 billion by 2019, compared with revenue of $1 billion last year. These bullish market expectations and Playlab’s record led to this funding, the largest to date from Monk’s Hill.
Pedersen said the gaming market in Southeast Asia was growing fast. The company understands the gaming desires of consumers. This funding will help the company give the market what it wants.
“Now, we will be able to place bigger bets on games targeting the region. We expect to make a profit within two years,” he said.
Peng T Ong, a founding partner and managing director of Monk’s Hill Ventures, a VC fund backed by Yahoo Japan Capital and Cisco, said the company expected to see an increase in the number of casual gamers in the gaming-matured market of Southeast Asia.
Playlab was funded in January 2012 in Bangkok.
