TinyCo Launches $5 Million Fund To Invest In Casual Mobile Game Developers

Andreessen Horowitz-backed mobile gaming company TinyCo is launching a new $5 million investment fund, called the TinyFund, to help support mobile game developers.

TinyCo, which just raised $18 million in new funding, has created a number of popular, casual iOS games including hits Tiny Chef, Tiny Zoo and Tap Resort, which have all appeared on the Top 10 free games charts in the App Store. In total, TinyCo’s games have over 20 million downloads.

The TinyFund will give developers up $500,000 per title, to help create innovative, engaging games played on the iPhone, iPad or Android including paid and free titles. In addition, TinyCo will offer marketing, development and business assistance as needed. Funded games will also gain access to TinyCo’s userbase.

A fund is a virtuous way to give back to the game development community, and is certainly noble considering that the games developed could be competitive with TinyCo’s own titles. But if TinyCo believes in the potential virality of a particular game that it funded, the TinyFund will give the company the opportunity to poach the title and talent pretty easily.