Indonesian startup receives funding from Gree

WATARU SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Touchten Games has received funding from Japanese social game developer Gree to expand its mobile gaming business.

Touchten Games plans to churn out more than a dozen games this year.

     It is the company's third fund raising round since it was formed in 2009. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Gree, as well as U.S. venture capital seed fund 500 Startups, will own a minority stake after buying Touchten's new shares.

     Touchten's existing investors include the venture capital arms of Japan's CyberAgent and Singapore's United Overseas Bank.

     Jakarta-based Touchten develops smartphone games which can be downloaded for free but charge fees for additional features. The proceeds from the fundraising will be used for adding more staff and developing technology as the company is planning to churn out more than a dozen games this year. Touchten also plans to add a Gree representative to its management team.

     Indonesia has a huge population of 250 million, but the gaming market is still a young market. According to Netherlands-based research company Newzoo, Indonesia's games revenue in 2014 stood at $181 million, lower than neighbors such as Thailand and Malaysia. With additional financial and human resources support from Gree, Touchten aims to become the largest online company in Indonesia.

     Gree has also been stepping up investment overseas as it struggles to grow its domestic gaming business. A company spokesperson said it will continue to seek business opportunities in Asia.

 

Tomomi Kikuchi in Singapore contributed to this story.

Related companies

GREE, Inc., CyberAgent, Inc., United Overseas Bank Ltd. (Singapore)