Mobile Game Company TinyCo Raises $18M In Funding

TinyCo, the San Francisco-based mobile game startup behind popular mobile games Tiny Chef and Tap Resort Party, has raised a hefty $18 million in series A funding, the company announced Friday. TinyCo's Tiny Chef and Tap Resort Party have been downloaded by over 10 million iPhone users, according to the company. The 37-person firm is also developing "several" new titles for mobile. The funding was led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has also invested in companies including Skype, Zynga, Digg and Foursquare, among others. The firm's Marc Andreessen, who co-founded Netscape, will join TinyCo's board. TinyCo said it's unique in that it takes "the best of what works on Facebook games (e.g. virtual currency, goods) and optimizes games with iPhone functionality in mind." Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz said in a blog post that there is a "big 'frackin' market" for mobile gaming, and that TinyCo has shown "impressive execution" and entrepreneurship for such a young company. He added that TinyCo is "an exceptionally well-run, profitable, 40 person company with the foundation to be one of the few large companies in the world that will be a terrific place to work for extremely talented people."