LONDON, (September 6, 2007)
Ideaworks3D, the leading provider of advanced mobile gaming technology and content, today announced investment from Japan's leading Venture Capital Company, Japan Asia Investment Company Ltd. (JAIC).
“We are delighted to take investment from Japan’s leading venture capital company in our first institutional round of investment,” said Alex Caccia, CEO of Ideaworks3D. “This is an important milestone for the company. Japan and Asia are the most demanding markets in the world for high-end gaming, graphics and multimedia content. This investment is a validation of the quality of our product, which has already been contracted by several leading Japanese games publishers for deployment on mobile devices. We expect that JAIC’s unrivalled relationships will help expand our existing customer base in Japan and Asia. More generally, this investment will help us increase production from our in-house studios, and accelerate the global roll-out of our unique Airplay™ games development tools and multimedia deployment platform.”
“With the advent of higher-performance handsets and mobile broadband, the opportunity for multimedia content on mobile devices is set for significant growth. JAIC is pleased to invest in Ideaworks3D, which is a clear global leader both in terms of technology and creativity in this field,” said Mr. Hideaki Shimizu, of JAIC.
Ideaworks3D is a privately held technology and game development company headquartered in London. Founded in 1998 with a strong Oxford and Cambridge computer science and electronic engineering pedigree, the company has an unparalleled track record of creative innovation and technical leadership in the field of high performance mobile gaming. Ideaworks3D‘s Airplay™ platform is the result of over 7 years of research and development into high-performance native multimedia applications on mobile devices, and has powered ground-breaking and award-winning titles such as Konami’s “Metal Gear Solid Mobile”, which won “Best Game” and “Operators’ Choice” accolades at IMGA 2008. Ideaworks3D's Studio is also the recipient of multiple industry accolades including Best Mobile Studio at the Develop Excellence Awards 2008, and two BAFTA Games Awards for best handheld and mobile games. More information can be found at: www.ideaworks3d.com
JAIC (www.jaic-vc.co.jp) was established in 1981 by the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) as an independent venture capital company and now ranks as one of Japan’s largest venture capital companies. In addition to its headquarters in Tokyo and an office in the United States, JAIC has six branch offices in Japan as well as a network of overseas subsidiaries in key Asia-Pacific locations. JAIC manages a total of 66 funds with an aggregate fund size of 136,640 million yen (US$1.1bn, GBP 589mm). JAIC is currently listed on the JASDAQ stock exchange. JAIC has built its business around three geographic hubs in Japan, other parts in Asia (9 countries) and the United States. With a multi-disciplinary team of over 80 investment professionals, JAIC is able to provide integrated financial services to companies in various sectors and at various stages of development.
Airplay is a trademark of Ideaworks3D, Ltd. All registered trademarks and other trademarks belong to their respective owners.