Skillz is Expanding to Support a Growing User Base and New Developer Partners

Skillz, the leader in mobile skill-gaming, today announced a $5.5 million Series A round of financing led by Atlas Venture. The funding will allow Skillz to grow its marketing and customer service teams, supporting over one million consumers who have downloaded the Skillz tournament platform since the company’s launch in April. Skillz will also grow its developer relations team as additional studios continue to integrate cash competitions into their skill-based mobile games.

“We’re expanding rapidly based on the success of our early developer partners,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz. “We always knew cash tournaments would significantly boost revenue for mobile games, but developers have been impressed by how much Skillz has increased retention of their hard-earned players.”

With 80% of mobile gaming revenue going to just 20 developers in 2012, monetization has proven to be one of the most pressing challenges in an otherwise growing industry. Traditional tools like advertising and in-app purchases have generated revenue for developers, but often at the expense of the gamer experience.

“Cash tournaments are a perfect fit for mobile games because they tap into the intrinsic competitiveness of gamers,” said Jeff Fagnan, Partner at Atlas Venture. “By enabling these competitions in many of today’s most popular games, Skillz is transforming an industry while creating a better ecosystem for both gamers and developers.”

In skill-based games, a player’s ability rather than luck, determines the outcome. This distinction makes betting in skill-based games legal across 37 states for 75% of the American population.

Players interested in competing can find a full list of Skillz-powered games at: www.skillz.com

Developers interested in implementing Skillz tournaments can visit: www.skillz.com/developers

About Skillz
Skillz is the world’s first cash and virtual currency tournament platform for skill-based mobile games. Skillz believes in making mobile games more fun for players while making game creation more lucrative for developers. Founded in March 2012, the company has offices in San Francisco and Boston. Skillz has raised $6.8M in funding from Atlas Venture and Nextview Ventures and launched its proprietary platform in April 2013. To learn more, visit www.skillz.com/corporate.