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Venture Capital News: Tap.Me Taps $3.2M Funding

2012-03-12
CHICAGO, IL, Easy-to-implement and scalable platform for branded enhancements in mobile games, announced it has closed a $3.2 million round of funding from investors led by Chicago's Hyde Park Venture Partners.
Tap.Me, the only easy-to-implement and scalable platform for branded enhancements in mobile games, today announced it has closed a $3.2 million round of funding from investors led by Chicago's Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP), an early-stage venture capital fund investing in technology companies in the Midwest, with particular focus in Chicago. Other partners in the round include I2A Fund, which led Tap.Me's initial round of financing, Western Technology Investment, Great Oaks Venture Capital, FireStarter Fund and Hyde Park Angels.

The company also announced that, effective immediately, Jeffrey Lapin, former Chief Executive Officer of Atari and veteran of Take-Two Interactive Software and THQ joins the company's Board of Directors.

"When we looked at Tap.Me's unique value proposition to both brands and game developers, as well as their accomplished management team, Tap.Me fit perfectly with what we look for in companies," said Guy Turner of HPVP. "HPVP looks forward to working closely with Tap.Me to accelerate their growth in the marketplace."

Platform Integration With Fluik

In a separate key development for the company, Tap.Me and Fluik Entertainment, an Edmonton-based game developer whose line of games have been downloaded more than 20 million times, have agreed to integrate Tap.Me's platform into Fluik's top titles, including its wildly popular "Office Jerk" mobile game.

"Fluik is thrilled to partner with Tap.Me, whose platform will help us monetize gameplay in a way that enhances the experience for the gamer, which is of paramount importance to us," said Victor Rubba, co-founder, Fluik. "This is the future of meaningful game and brand integration."

With the Fluik partnership, Tap.Me's platform is on pace to reach nearly 25 million gamers by June 2012.

Additions to Board of Directors Jeffrey Lapin, former Chief Executive Officer of Atari and veteran of Take-Two Interactive Software and THQ, will immediately join Tap.Me's Board of

Directors. "I've been around gaming for a long time and know the challenges of bringing brand advertisers into the game experience without being disruptive," said Lapin. "Tap.Me has taken a very innovative approach to solving this problem by making brands valuable to game play. I'm excited to bring my experience and perspective to the team as they continue to build their business."

"Closing on the new round of funding and adding industry leaders to our investment ranks give us a lot of momentum," said Matt Spiegel, Chief Executive Officer of Tap.Me. "Our partnership with Fluik provides immediate scale for our platform's reach, while the addition of talented folks like Jeff Lapin, Sam Yagan and Stuart Larkins to our board validates our approach. I'm thrilled with these developments and look forward to an exciting period ahead at Tap.Me." About Tap.Me Tap.Me is the only easy-to-implement and scalable platform for branded enhancements in mobile games. By creating contextual and authentic branded integration points within mobile and web games, Tap.Me delivers experiences that thrill gamers and strengthen the connection between leading game developers and brands for mutual benefit.
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