MUMBAI: MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe, Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb have partnered with Austin Ventures, to acquire MindJolt.
Building on MindJolt’s expansive online footprint, the new team will extend the platform by focusing on three major initiatives including: (1) increased monetization through major brand partnerships and virtual good offerings, (2) expanding MindJolt’s global presence to all relevant websites and smart phone platforms, and (3) working closer with game developers to create tools for single player and multiplayer social games.
"MindJolt has quickly become an ‘onramp’ to the Internet for the world’s independent game developers,” said MindJolt CEO and former CEO MySpace Chris DeWolfe. “We’re building out the company to become the next generation platform for game developers. Our goal is to make it even easier for developers to get their games noticed and make more money from their work. At the same time we will deliver the most social and viral gaming experiences to our millions of users everywhere."
With over 20 million monthly active users across the Web, MindJolt provides game developers of any size a way to monetize their games, access to massive distribution on the world’s most popular social platforms, and creates viral game play by injecting unique social layers into the casual and social game experience. More than 1,000 game developers use the company’s application to reach audiences across the world’s most popular social platforms. The sheer number of game players on MindJolt levels the playing field for indie game developers by giving them access to an engaged, highly social audience.
"We’ve always backed great management teams and great companies," said Austin Ventures general partner Chris Pacitti. "A partnership with the MySpace founders is a rare opportunity and MindJolt is a company with the right scale, momentum, and market position to succeed. We’re thrilled to be a partner on this deal."
Based in San Francisco, MindJolt’s executive team includes chief executive officer Chris DeWolfe (co-founder and former CEO of MySpace), chief operating officer Colin Digiaro (MySpace’s former head of Monetization and co-founder of SlingShot Labs), chief technology officer Aber Whitcomb (MySpace’s former Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of MySpace), SVP of Business & Corporate Development Josh Yguado (Former VP of Business Development at Fox Networks Group), and MindJolt founder Richard Fields and head of product strategy.
"Independent game developers have always been the lifeblood of MindJolt. We’ve done a great job of connecting with the independent casual game community and we’re looking to expand our efforts to social game developers as well,” said Fields. “The new MindJolt team is united on its vision to empower game developers of every size to build their businesses. We now have the resources to extend our product vision and build what they’re asking us for."
