About Playco
Playco is a Media & Entertainment company based in Tokyo (Japan) founded in 2020 by Teddy Cross, Takeshi Otsuka, Michael Maxwell Carter, and Justin Waldron. Developer of social web games for PC and console. Playco has raised $100 million across 1 funding round from investors including Digital Garage, Buckley Ventures and Sequoia Capital. The company has 69 employees. Playco has completed 1 acquisition, including Game Closure. Playco was last valued at $1 billion in September 2020. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Michael Maxwell Carter. Its website play.co draws about 29 thousand monthly visits. Its focus areas include Gaming, PC & Console Gaming, Game Developers and Web Games. Its legal entity is GAME CLOSURE INC.
Company details
Playco was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Social web games for PC and console are developed by the company, with offerings including Sway Stories, Heads Up, and Ask Away, alongside titles such as Trip Royale, Snake Squad, and Cat Life. Operations focus on web-based gaming experiences within the entertainment sector, targeting interactive social play.
- Total Equity Funding$100M (USD)
in 1 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$100M (USD), Series A
Sep 2020
- InvestorsDigital Garage
& 23 more
- Employee Count69
- Investments & Acquisitions
Funding Insights of Playco
Playco has successfully raised a total of $100M through 1 strategic funding round. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $100 million completed in September 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $100M
- Total Rounds 1
- Last Round Series A — $100M
- First Round $100M
(Sep 2020)
- Investors Count 24
All 1 funding rounds of Playco with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | $100M | Series A | $1B | Josh Buckley, Sequoia Capital |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | $1B | •••••••• |
Last known valuation $1B (Sep 2020). 24 investors in total: 24 institutional.
Investors in Playco
Playco has secured backing from 24 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Digital Garage, Buckley Ventures and Sequoia Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sequoia Capital is engaged in venture capital investments. | 1972 | sequoiacap.com | ||
| kskangel.com | ||||
A community-focused entity is operated for collective impact initiatives. | mistletoe.co | Singapore, Singapore | ||
Venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies | dreamers.vc | Calabasas, United States | ||
Venture capital funding for games and interactive entertainment. | makersfund.com | |||
A venture firm based in San Francisco and New York, investments are made in technology companies. | caffeinatedcapital.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital firm focused on multiple sectors | sozoventures.com | Redwood City, United States | ||
Investments are made in innovative startups by Z Venture Capital. | zvc.vc | Chiyoda City, Japan | ||
Investments in early-stage biotech startups are made by Formic Ventures. | formic.vc | San Francisco, United States | ||
Investments in multiple sectors are managed by Cambium Grove Capital. | cambiumgrove.com | Hong Kong, China |
Investor details for Playco
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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People of Playco
31 people are tracked at Playco (14 in leadership, 17 in team); the tracked headcount is 69.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Teddy Cross | Co-Founder & CPO | Leadership |
Takeshi Otsuka | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Michael Maxwell Carter | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Justin Waldron | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Michael Carter | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Buster Zalkind | VP | Leadership |
Amber Freeman | Senior Director Of People | Leadership |
Stephanie Adamson King | Chief Administrative And Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary | Leadership |
Chris Wu | Director, Game Engineering | Leadership |
Tommy Someya | Chief Of Staff | Leadership |
Kyoko K. | EA To Co-founder And President | Leadership |
Sara Jones | VP Of Finance | Leadership |
Alex Chou | Head Of User Acquisition + Marketing | Leadership |
Aaron Bamblett | Director Of Support | Leadership |
Cai Leao | Staff Engineer | Team |
Mattias Öst | Senior Software Engineer | Team |
Michael Piech | EVP Ops | Team |
Erika Son | Recruiting Coordinator Manager | Team |
Minjie Kuai | Exec Office / Operations | Team |
Kenya Uchida | Executive Office / Operations | Team |
11 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Playco
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Investments & Acquisitions by Playco
Playco has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include Game Closure.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HTML games are distributed via an online development platform. | gameclosure.com | Mountain View, United States | 2010 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Playco
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- Exports
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Timeline of Playco
3 dated milestones of Playco, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Playco is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $100.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
Web traffic of Playco
The website of Playco (play.co) receives about 29K visits a month.
- Monthly visits29K
▲ 41.7% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Playco. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
domainholdingsbrokerage.com | domainholdingsbrokerage.com | 100% | – | ||
newsinitiative.org | newsinitiative.org | 64% | – | ||
google.com.do | google.com.do | 60% | – | ||
search.ask.com | search.ask.com | 60% | – | ||
playco.com.au | playco.com.au | 38% | #3,719,037 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 6 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Playco
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Related news about Playco
Complete news archive for Playco
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Frequently Asked Questions about Playco
Playco was founded in 2020.
Playco is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is registered at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Michael Maxwell Carter is the CEO of Playco, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Playco is a funded company, having raised a total of $100M across 1 funding round to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $100M, raised on Sep 2020.
Playco has 69 employees.
Playco was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Social web games for PC and console are developed by the company, with offerings including Sway Stories, Heads Up, and Ask Away, alongside titles such as Trip Royale, Snake Squad, and Cat Life. Operations focus on web-based gaming experiences within the entertainment sector, targeting interactive social play.
Playco has made 1 acquisition, including Game Closure.
Playco has 24 investors. Key investors include Digital Garage, Buckley Ventures, Sequoia Capital, KSK Angel Fund, and Mistletoe.
The valuation of Playco is $1B as of Sep 2020.
Playco operates through Game Closure Inc.