The developers behind Angry Birds, Rovio, had been searching for investors for a while and today, the Finland-based company announced that it has managed to secure over $40m from a collection of investment companies, one of which is connected to Skype. The companies to come on board are Accel Partners, Felicis Ventures and Atomico Ventures, the venture capital company created by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström.
“With Angry Birds, we have successfully launched not only a strong new brand, but also a whole new entertainment franchise,” said the CEO and co-founder of Rovio, Mikael Hed. “Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories. We will strengthen the position of Rovio and continue building our franchises in gaming, merchandising and broadcast media.”
Angry Birds has become a very popular game with over 40 million active monthly users. The new investment is aimed at transforming Rovio by allowing the company to increase its international reach including mobile and social media markets, partnerships and merchandising. There will also be an addition to the team; Niklas Zennström, the co-founder of Kazaa and Rdio, will join the board of directors.
Rovio recently announced that they have sold over 2 million of their "plush toys", showing a huge potential for earnings from future toys and games. 40% of new iOS users have also downloaded the Mighty Eagle content add on, which shows popularity in the companies software.