Techcrunch has reported that Vostu has raised $30 million at a $300 million valuation.
What is Vostu and why am I writing about this?
Techcrunch has reported that Vostu has raised $30 million at a $300 million valuation.
What is Vostu and why am I writing about this?
Vostu is the leading social games company in Brazil. It’s games attract 20 million players per month, which is a tenfold increase over the year and represents a quarter of all Brazilians who are online right now. They are the leading social games company on Google’s Orkut.
The key phrase is right now. With a fast growing economy and a young and connected population, Brazil is emerging as one of the fastest growing for social and online games. With all the attention on the US and Asian markets, we sometimes lose track of the other global markets that are emerging.
In social games, future success is not just predicated on the US and Facebook. It’s based on global markets where Facebook may not be the number one distribution channel (yet).
One must wonder why Google, with its top social game network in Brazil (Orkut), doesn’t let its Brazilian office just take over the social network and games strategy for the company instead of piecing together a hodgepodge of technologies and teams through acquisitions in the US. Ford did just that (allow Europe to take the lead on small car development globally) and it’s been a successful strategy for them.
One must also add Vostu as yet another company that Zynga and its ilk must compete with as they expand globally.
Vostu may be the top social games company in Brazil, but they are founded by 3 Harvard classmates and headquartered in the US. Vostu is smart to have focused on the lucrative Brazilian and built their development team in Brazil Argentina, where the talent is cheap and good. By raising $30 million and adding Jim Brewyer of Accel Partners to their board (who also sites on Facebook’s board), they are signifying that their aspirations are more global in nature.
Source and learn more: Techcrunch
