Sennari Closes Funding, De-Emphasizes Game Development

Sennari, a mobile game developer and now a self-styled 'mobile relationship management pioneer', has closed $2 million in Series A seed funding, led by Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Blacksmith Capital. As part of the financing deal, the management and assets of Sennari Games have been rolled into the new company. The funding will be used to drive the company's mobile middleware solution, named the Mobile Loyalty and Community Service (MLCS), designed to help carriers and content holders reduce churn, increase network traffic, and create new revenue - essentially using mobile games as a way for consumers to stay loyal to certain phone carriers. In addition to a registration service and loyalty points, the MLCS provides the web interface, notifies participants, and manages the leader board in real-time for mobile video games. Sennari Games was formerly known as the developer of mobile titles such as Jamdat Bowling, Kelly Slater Pro Surfing, and Sennari Jigsaw Club, and also worked on some Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles including Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo A-Go-Go!, but it appears that the company's mobile development role has been de-emphasized in favor of this loyalty solution.