Venture capital continued to flood mobile gaming Tuesday as publisher Sorrent Inc. announced it raised $20 million in its latest round of funding.
Granite Global Ventures led the Series D round, with current investors BA Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Globespan Capital Partners and Sienna Ventures joining. Under terms of the funding, Granite Global Ventures Managing Director Hany Nada will join Sorrent’s board of directors.
A publisher of licensed entertainment from Fox Sports, Twentieth Century Fox and Cartoon Network, Sorrent has raised $50 million to date. The company will use the capital to continue its global expansion and move beyond games into other mobile entertainment areas.
“It’s a pivotal moment in the mobile entertainment industry,” said Rocky Pimentel, Sorrent’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “As the consolidation in this market continues, the companies that thrive will have strong balance sheets and proven world-class execution.”
Investors have flocked to mobile gaming, pouring $618 million into the market since September 1999, according to a recent report from Screen Digest. More than half that money was raised last year as publishers like Sorrent, Digital Bridges, Mforma and Jamdat (which went public late last year) positioned themselves for an increasingly consolidated market.
