Which startups have raised the most funding in the mobile gaming market?

Last updated: 13 July 2026

A constantly refreshed ranking of the top startups in the mobile gaming market, ranked by cumulative funding raised

market research pitch 2026

In our updated market reports, you will find everything you need

The mobile gaming market includes game studios, publishers, esports platforms, adtech companies, and monetization infrastructure built around mobile games.

This ranking is updated every month so investors, founders, and operators can track which mobile gaming startups have raised the most capital over time.

The list shows that the largest funding totals often come from IPO-scale publishers, ad monetization platforms, and a few very large private gaming companies.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded startup Netmarble, with $2.9B raised
Second most funded startup ironSource, with $2.7B raised
Largest funding round Netmarble, $2.4B IPO in May 2017
Median funding $28.5M across the full ranked dataset, or $55M across funded companies only
Share of funding captured by the top 10 About 70% of total identified funding
Median time since last round About 8 years, based on dated funding events
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 1 startup, Liftoff
Mobile gaming IPO and public-market outcomes 17 companies are listed as IPO-stage businesses
Mobile gaming acquisition outcomes 29 companies are listed as acquired
Mobile gaming infrastructure funding concentration ironSource, AppLovin, Liftoff, Moloco, Tapjoy, Vungle, Chartboost, Fyber, Mintegral, and AdColony represent about $5.7B

Top startups in the mobile gaming market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the mobile gaming market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type, key investors, the startup’s current status, and a confidence score based on the data collected.

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Netmarble Mobile game publisher $2.9B 2 May 2017 $2.4B IPO Tencent, Intops Investment IPO Full
2 ironSource App monetization platform $2.7B 3 June 2021 $2.1B SPAC / PIPE Thoma Bravo Advantage, PIPE investors Acquired Strong
3 AppLovin Mobile app ad platform $2.2B 3 April 2021 $1.8B IPO Public investors, KKR, J.P. Morgan IPO Strong
4 Zynga Social and mobile games $2.0B 7 December 2011 $1.0B IPO Google, SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Acquired Partial
5 Scopely Mobile game publisher $999M 8 October 2020 $340M Series E Wellington Management, NewView Capital, BlackRock Acquired Strong
6 Niantic Location-based AR games $780M 6 November 2021 $300M Series D Coatue Active Strong
7 King Candy Crush mobile games $543M 2 March 2014 $500M IPO Apax Partners, Index Ventures, public investors Acquired Strong
8 Voodoo Hypercasual mobile games $514M 3 August 2021 $314M Growth / Preferred Equity GBL, Goldman Sachs, Tencent Active Partial
9 Playtika Social casino mobile games $500M 1 January 2021 $500M IPO BlackRock, Caledonia, Dragoneer IPO Partial
10 Dream Games Casual puzzle games $468M 4 January 2022 $255M Series C Index Ventures, BlackRock, Makers Fund Active Full
11 Kakao Games Game publisher platform $452M 2 September 2020 $320M IPO Tencent, Netmarble, Bluehole Studio IPO Full
12 Liftoff Mobile app growth platform $442M 4 June 2026 $437M IPO Public investors, Blackstone IPO Partial
13 Mobile Premier League Mobile esports gaming platform $376M 5 September 2021 $150M Series E Legatum Capital, Sequoia Capital India, Moore Strategic Ventures Active Strong
14 X.D. Network Games and TapTap platform $296M 5 April 2021 $124M Post-IPO Equity Bilibili, Orient Securities, GF Securities IPO Partial
15 Wildlife Studios Mobile game studio $250M 3 August 2020 $120M Series B Vulcan Capital, Human Capital Active Strong
16 GREE Mobile social gaming platform $250M 4 October 2011 $15M Post-IPO Equity Rakuten, KDDI, Recruit IPO Partial
17 Kabam Midcore mobile games $245M 5 July 2014 $120M Series E Alibaba Group Acquired Strong
18 Tilting Point Free-to-play games publisher $235M 1 July 2021 $235M Growth equity General Atlantic, Red Ventures, Kamerra Active Full
19 Tripledot Studios Casual mobile games $202M 3 February 2022 $116M Series B 20VC, Access Industries, Lightspeed Active Full
20 Moloco ML-powered ad platform $200M 5 August 2021 $150M Series C Tiger Global, Samsung Ventures, Mirae Asset Active Strong
21 CMGE IP-based mobile game publisher $167M 1 October 2019 $167M IPO Public market investors IPO Strong
22 Glu Mobile Freemium mobile game publisher $167M 6 May 2015 $75M Post-IPO Equity NEA, Scale Venture Partners, Tencent Acquired Partial
23 Homa Mobile games publishing tools $165M 3 October 2022 $100M Series B Quadrille Capital, Headline, Northzone Active Full
24 Jam City Mobile game developer publisher $158M 2 September 2021 N/A Mixed equity/debt Netmarble, Kabam, Fortress Investment Group Active Partial
25 Pocket Gems Mobile games and stories $155M 3 May 2017 $90M Series C / strategic equity Tencent, Sequoia Capital Active Full
26 Devsisters Cookie Run developer $141M 3 October 2014 $136M IPO Com2uS, SoftBank Ventures, MVP Capital IPO Strong
27 IGG Global mobile game operator $138M 6 October 2013 $123M IPO IDG Capital, Ridge Ventures, Vertex Ventures China IPO Partial
28 Zupee Skill-based casual gaming $121M 5 January 2022 $72M Series B Nepean Capital, AJ Capital, WestCap Active Full
29 SundayToz Casual puzzle games $112M 2 March 2014 $112M Strategic stake investment Smilegate IPO Partial
30 Games24x7 Rummy fantasy sports games $98M 6 March 2022 $75M Series C Malabar Investments, Tiger Global, Raine Group Active Partial
31 Cygames Mobile and console game studio $93M 2 December 2012 $92M Corporate Minority DeNA, CyberAgent, Nintendo Active Partial
32 WinZO Vernacular real-money gaming $90M 4 July 2021 $65M Series C Griffin Gaming Partners, Makers Fund, Courtside Ventures Active Strong
33 FunPlus Mobile strategy game publisher $87M 2 March 2014 $74M Series B Orchid Asia Group, GSR Ventures, Steamboat Ventures Active Strong
34 Gamevil Mobile game publisher $80M 1 June 2013 $80M Post-IPO equity Yuanta Investment, Hyundai Venture Investment IPO Strong
35 Youzu Interactive Mobile and browser game publisher $79M 1 April 2014 $79M Reverse Merger Susino, Green Pine Capital Partners IPO Partial
36 Rovio Angry Birds mobile games $78M 3 September 2017 $35M IPO Accel, Atomico, Felicis Ventures Acquired Strong
37 Tapjoy Offerwall monetization platform $71M 4 July 2011 $30M Series D J.P. Morgan, Rho Ventures, North Bridge Acquired Partial
38 Carry1st African mobile games publisher $57M 5 January 2023 $27M Series B / growth BITKRAFT Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, TTV Capital Active Strong
39 Next Games Licensed mobile game studio $55M 5 March 2021 $5M Follow-on equity IDG Ventures, AMC Networks, Lionsgate Acquired Partial
40 COLOPL Smartphone games and location services $54M 2 December 2012 $48M IPO JAFCO, KDDI IPO Strong
41 Small Giant Games Empires & Puzzles developer $51M 5 February 2018 $41M Growth equity EQT Ventures, Creandum, Spintop Ventures Acquired Partial
42 Vespa King’s Raid developer $50M 1 December 2018 $50M IPO Public market investors IPO Partial
43 DeNA Mobile games and internet services $48M 2 February 2005 $29M IPO Nippon Venture Capital, Nippon Technology Venture Partners IPO Partial
44 Skillz Competitive mobile gaming platform $47M 4 December 2017 $25M Series C Telstra, Liberty Global, Accomplice IPO Strong
45 Wemade MMORPG blockchain games $46M 2 November 2022 $46M Post-IPO equity Microsoft, Shinhan Asset Management, Kiwoom Securities IPO Partial
46 MAG Interactive Casual mobile word games $40M 3 December 2017 $24M IPO Nokia Growth Partners, Swedbank Robur IPO Strong
47 Happy Elements Social and mobile games $35M 2 October 2011 $30M Series B Legend Capital, DCM Ventures Active Full
48 Kuro Games Anime action RPG developer $30M 1 October 2019 $30M Strategic equity Hero HootSuite / Hero Games Acquired Strong
49 Star Stable Entertainment Online horse adventure game $29M 3 December 2018 $11M Series A / Strategic Nordisk Games, Kima Ventures, Longrun Capital Acquired Partial
50 Seriously Digital Entertainment Best Fiends mobile games $28M 4 August 2015 $18M Series A Northzone, Korea Investment Partners, Upfront Ventures Acquired Full
51 Ten Square Games Free-to-play mobile games $28M 1 April 2018 $28M IPO Public-market investors IPO Partial
52 Vungle In-app video ads $26M 3 February 2014 $17M Series B Thomvest Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Google Ventures Acquired Strong
53 Lockwood Publishing Avakin Life virtual world $25M 2 November 2020 $25M Series A Tencent, Novator Partners, David Helgason Active Strong
54 Metacore Games Merge Mansion game studio $24M 2 September 2020 $18M Series A Supercell Acquired Full
55 Chartboost Mobile game ad network $21M 2 January 2013 $19M Series B Sequoia Capital, TransLink Capital, SK Telecom Ventures Acquired Full
56 Space Ape Games Multiplayer mobile games studio $21M 6 May 2015 $6M Series C Northzone, Accel, Initial Capital Acquired Partial
57 Peak Games Casual puzzle games $19M 3 September 2011 $12M Series B Earlybird Venture Capital, Hummingbird Ventures Acquired Strong
58 Traplight Mobile strategy game studio $14M 4 July 2020 $9M Series B EQT Ventures, Play Ventures, Initial Capital Active Strong
59 Machine Zone Strategy mobile games $13M 2 March 2012 $8M Series B Menlo Ventures Acquired Strong
60 CrazyLabs Hyper-casual mobile publisher $13M 3 October 2013 $12M Series B Qualcomm Ventures, Magma Venture Partners, Vintage Investment Partners Acquired Strong
61 Supercell Multiplayer mobile games $13M 2 May 2011 $12M Series A Accel Partners, London Venture Partners, Lifeline Ventures Acquired Partial
62 Big Run Studios Casual mobile game studio $12M 3 August 2020 $5M Seed Transcend Fund, Galaxy Interactive, Block.one Active Partial
63 Fyber Mobile ad monetization $10M 2 February 2011 $5M Series A2 Nokia Growth Partners, Hasso Plattner Ventures, Team Europe Acquired Partial
64 Moon Active Casual mobile games $10M 2 2011-2021 $10M Early / Private Equity Gigi Levy-Weiss, Guy Gamzu, David Alliance Active Low
65 Com2uS Mobile game developer $8M 1 August 2005 $8M Series A Storm Ventures, Walden International Acquired Strong
66 Habby Hybrid-casual mobile games $7M 2 March 2020 $7M Series A Daguang Capital Active Partial
67 Hutch Games Mobile racing game studio $6M 2 February 2017 $6M Series A Index Ventures, Backed VC, Initial Capital Acquired Strong
68 Supersolid Casual mobile game studio $5M 2 October 2017 $4M Series A Index Ventures, Passion Capital, Initial Capital Active Strong
69 Trailmix Story-driven puzzle games $4M 1 February 2018 $4M Seed / Series A Supercell Acquired Strong
70 Lilith Games Strategy RPG mobile games $3M 2 March 2014 $3M Series A IDG Capital Active Strong
71 Elex Strategy mobile games $3M 1 2008 $3M Seed Tencent Acquired Partial
72 Futureplay Games Casual mobile game studio $3M 2 August 2016 $3M Series A London Venture Partners, DN Capital, Creandum Acquired Full
73 AdColony Mobile video ad platform $2M 3 Undisclosed $2M Seed / early equity Insight Partners, Pasadena Angels Acquired Partial
74 Ludia Licensed mobile game developer $2M 1 April 2007 $2M Series A White Star Capital Acquired Low
75 Gram Games Casual puzzle games $600K 3 January 2014 $600K Early VC Hummingbird Ventures, FJ Labs, Fabrice Grinda Acquired Partial
76 miHoYo Anime-style mobile games $160K 1 January 2012 $160K Angel Song Tao Active Strong
77 Miniclip Online and mobile games $58K 1 2001 $58K Founder / Seed Robert Small, Tihan Presbie Acquired Low
78 Mintegral Mobvista ad platform $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
79 Nordeus Football management games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A Israel Japan Fund Acquired Low
80 Rollic Hyper-casual game publisher $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Low
81 SayGames Hybrid-casual game publisher $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
82 Kwalee Mobile games publisher $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
83 Outfit7 Talking Tom mobile franchise $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Full
84 Fusebox Games Interactive romance story games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Low
85 Playrix Casual puzzle mobile games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
86 Easybrain Casual puzzle mobile games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Full
87 PeopleFun Word puzzle mobile games $0 1 2019 N/A Seed / Corporate Minority AppLovin Acquired Low
88 Azur Games Mobile game publisher $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
89 MobilityWare Classic mobile card games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Full
90 Brainium Studios Casual puzzle mobile games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Full
91 Storm8 Casual social mobile games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Full
92 Century Games Global mobile game studio $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Acquired Strong
93 Yotta Games Mobile strategy game developer $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Strong
94 Paper Games Female-oriented mobile games $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Low
95 Yostar Anime game publisher $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Strong
96 Hypergryph Arknights game developer $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Low
97 Manjuu Azur Lane game developer $0 0 N/A N/A N/A N/A Active Low
98 GungHo Online Entertainment Puzzle & Dragons publisher $0 1 March 2005 N/A IPO Public market investors IPO Low

Key funding trends in the mobile gaming market

Insights

  • The top 10 mobile gaming companies captured about 70% of all identified funding, which shows how strongly capital concentrates around scaled publishers and monetization platforms.
  • Mobile gaming infrastructure is a major funding theme, with ironSource, AppLovin, Liftoff, Moloco, Tapjoy, Vungle, Chartboost, Fyber, Mintegral, and AdColony representing about $5.7B.
  • Active private mobile gaming companies raised about $3.3B, but Niantic, Dream Games, Mobile Premier League, Wildlife Studios, and Tilting Point account for most of that capital.
  • The mobile gaming market has produced many acquisition outcomes, and several studios reached exits with modest fundraising, including Rovio, Metacore Games, Seriously, Peak Games, and Futureplay Games.
  • India-focused mobile gaming companies are meaningful in this dataset, with Mobile Premier League, Zupee, WinZO, and Games24x7 together raising about $685M.
  • Tencent appears across several important mobile gaming outcomes, including Netmarble, Kakao Games, Voodoo, Pocket Gems, Lockwood Publishing, Glu Mobile, and Elex.
  • Casual and puzzle games show a wide funding spread, from Dream Games at $468M to large bootstrapped or near-bootstrapped companies such as Playrix and Easybrain.
  • Scopely stands out as the clearest venture-style mobile gaming scale-up, with eight identified rounds and nearly $1.0B raised before acquisition.

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the mobile gaming market based on their total cumulative fundraising. To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since the official company source is usually the most reliable source for funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times, Forbes, GamesIndustry.biz, Pocket Gamer, VentureBeat, or company IPO filings.

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, pounds, Korean won, Japanese yen, Indian rupees, or Chinese yuan, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and clearly flag the company. We don’t want readers to confuse rough funding reconstruction with fully verified fundraising data.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Who is the author of this content?

NEW MARKET PITCH TEAM

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