Games streaming platform Backbone has raised $40 million in a Series A funding round to bring games from all platforms to mobile.
The funding round was led by Index Ventures, and included participation from Sound Ventures, alongside a slew of angel investors, including celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Post Malone, The Weeknd, and more.
Backbone founder and CEO Maneet Khaira started developing the platform while working at Google. Backbone then launched in 2021 and has created an ecosystem wherein numerous gaming platforms are available in one place on mobile.
“Backbone was founded with one true goal: to elevate the gaming experience for everyone, everywhere. Backbone bridges the gap in core gaming and streaming,” said Khaira.
“This funding will be central to scaling the business, including recruiting new talent to fully realise Backbone’s potential. But more importantly, it will help us connect with, and better serve, gamers on a larger scale.”
Bringing platforms together
Players are able to connect their iPhone to the Backbone One and play titles from the App Store and Apple Arcade, stream games from Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia Geforce Now, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia, as well as play games on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Steam. The company partnered with Microsoft to bring Xbox gaming to iOS last year.
Index Ventures principal Damir Becirovic commented: “There are nearly three billion mobile gamers worldwide and counting. Backbone is transforming mobile gaming for these players by turning the phone into a console-like experience.”
“Backbone has built a unified experience that makes it simple for gamers to find games, connect with their friends, and enjoy content in a deeper and more engaging way, which we believe represents the future of mobile gaming.”
Last week, casual mobile games developer Tripledot Studios announced that it has raised $116 million in a Series B funding round led by 20VC.
