US game firm Kabam attracts $120m from Alibaba

Set up in 2006, Kabam is one of the leading US developers of free-to-play games available on mobile devices via the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and via websites such as Facebook, Yahoo, and Kabam's own site. The company has users in more than 150 countries and a portfolio fo around 36 games.

This latest round brings the company's total fundraising to $244.5 million. The company's previous backers include Intel Capital, Canaan Partners, Google Ventures and Redpoint Ventures. This latest fundraising round will be used to fund the company's inorganic expansion into Asia. In addition to its investment, Alibaba will also assist in the publishing and distribution of the start-up's free-to-play mobile games.

This latest transaction is part of a broader push by Alibaba to reach more users ahead of it US IPO, which is expected to happen in a week's time. Alibaba filed the registration documents for the IPO in map and is expected to raise about $20 billion, potentially surpassing Facebook as the largest tech offering in history.

Alibaba has invested in more than 20 companies in recent years, specializing in things from logistics to social networking. Its most recent deal involving a VC-backed US company was in January when it backed New York-based luxury e-commerce site 1stdibs with a $15 million Series C investment.

Prior that it led a $50 million Series C round of investment for Quixey, a search engine for apps. It also invested in mobile messaging platform TangoMe and transportation app Lyft and smartphone remote control company Peel Technologies.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• Greater China
• Technology
• Venture
• China
• Technology
• Alibaba Group
• Canaan Partners
• Intel Capital