Backbone, a growing gaming company powering cross-platform game streaming on mobile devices, just completed a major Series A round of fundraising, generating $40 million, led in large part by celebrity investments.
Among those leading the round was actor and cofounder of venture capital firm Sound Ventures, Ashton Kutcher.
Founded by 24-year-old Maneet Khaira while he was working on gaming at Google, Backbone is essentially the Roku of gaming, bringing together access to multiple gaming platforms—from Apple Arcade to Xbox—in one digital hub. Backbone’s software and devices ensure cloud game streaming and core gaming is effortless and seamless. Users plug an iPhone into the Backbone One device and can instantly play major titles on the App Store and Apple Arcade; stream games through cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia; and play their Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Steam games anywhere through remote play.
The company says its sales have grown 10-fold over the past six months, and Backbone One is the top-selling product within its gaming category on Amazon.
Kutcher recently shared more with Fortune about why he invested in the rising gaming startup.
- Startup: Backbone
- Location: Remote
- Year founded: 2018
- Valuation: Declined to disclose
- Investment level: Declined to disclose
- Number of employees: Declined to disclose
- Other major investors: Index Ventures, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Kevin Hart, Richard Post (Post Malone), Sean Combs (Diddy), Amy Schumer, Christopher Comstock (Marshmello), Jason Citron of Discord, Nick Fajt of Rec Room, and Patrick Spence of Sonos
Why he invested, in his own words
I loved gaming growing up and was a huge fan of Nintendo 64. Over the years I’ve played quite a bit on many different consoles and platforms, so I think it’s fair to say that Backbone is creating something that’s not really been seen before.
With Backbone, players have access to a profound ecosystem where all gaming services are available in one place—your phone. My perspective is that core gaming on mobile devices can’t really exist without a device like Backbone to make game play enjoyable. It’s incredibly easy to use but the device itself, and the software, offer a sophistication that, up until this point, was unheard of. It’s changing how games are played and elevating the experience entirely, that’s what I look for in companies that I invest in. Yes, there’s a personal passion there, but does it make sense, and are people going to love it? Absolutely. I also always try to understand markets and where they’re headed. With 5G networks rolling out and core games increasingly shifting to mobile—both through cloud game streaming and on the App Store, I saw a chance to support a transformative company.
But that wasn’t the sole reason I invested; I saw a platform opportunity. I ultimately view Backbone’s devices as a wedge for their software, which not only acts as a bridge between all the major platforms and services but also serves as a home for gamers on a mobile device. There’s a huge opportunity to bring core games to the 3 billion people who play on mobile devices, a trend that accelerated this past year.
Backbone’s success is really a win for the ecosystem at large. Rather than offering an alternative to Xbox, PlayStation, et cetera, it’s completely additive. Players are using it to take their console experience with them and play anywhere through Xbox and PS remote play, as well as play top App Store games and Apple Arcade. You can see that through their offerings and partnerships as well, working with Microsoft to bring Xbox gaming and cloud gaming to iOS devices, and giving their users access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, along with their own Backbone+ subscription.
It’s also worth noting that Backbone took off really quickly, despite having only been on the market for a year or so—a trait I’ve seen across our other great consumer investments. In that short time, they’ve become the No. 1 selling product in their category on Amazon, and the Backbone app was in the top 10 in social on the App Store last year. They’ve got some pretty interesting developments planned for the rest of this year as well, keep an eye out. We’re still in the early innings.
This is an installment of Why I Invested, a series featuring famous investors from all different backgrounds and industries, revealing what inspired them to invest their own money in a new business.