Loading organizations...
CrowdStar has raised $35.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at CrowdStar.
CrowdStar has raised $35.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
CrowdStar is a Burlingame, California-based developer of social and mobile games targeted primarily at female audiences across platforms like iOS, Android, and Facebook. The company operates on a free-to-play business model driven by in-app purchases, historically reaching a peak of 31 million daily active users with popular interactive titles such as Happy Aquarium, Covet Fashion, and Design Home. Prior to its 2016 acquisition by Glu Mobile, the mobile gaming studio secured approximately $46.7 million in total venture funding from prominent institutional backers including Time Warner, Intel Capital, and Tencent. Although it transitioned into an inactive subsidiary following the corporate buyout, recent industry data indicates the entity maintains a small operational footprint of 10 employees and generates an estimated $30 million in annual revenue. CrowdStar was originally founded in 2008 by Suren Markosian and Jeff Tseng.
CrowdStar has raised $35.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
CrowdStar's investors include AV8 Ventures, Convoz, Greycroft, Imagination Capital, Lakestar, Upfront Ventures, Chris M. Willliams.
CrowdStar has raised $35.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $12.0M Series U in May 2012.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2012 | $12M Series U | — | AV8 Ventures, Convoz, Greycroft, Imagination Capital, Lakestar, Upfront Ventures, Chris M. Willliams | Announced |
| May 1, 2011 | $23M Series U | — | AV8 Ventures, Convoz, Greycroft, Imagination Capital, Lakestar, Upfront Ventures, Chris M. Willliams | Announced |
CrowdStar was a mobile and social gaming company specializing in entertainment for women, with its flagship title Covet Fashion, a fashion styling game that engaged millions of daily users.[1][2][3][4] It developed interactive games like Design Home, Top Girl, Happy Aquarium, and It Girl, available on platforms including iOS, Google Play, Amazon, and Microsoft, targeting female audiences with fashion and shopping themes.[1][2][3][4] The company raised $46.7-46.75 million in funding from investors like Time Warner and Intel Capital, achieved $30 million in annual revenue by 2025, and employed around 10-200 people in Burlingame, California, before being acquired by Glu Mobile in 2016 for approximately $45 million.[1][2][3][4]
CrowdStar was founded in 2008 by Suren Markosian and Jeff Tseng in Burlingame, California, initially focusing on Facebook social games that quickly gained traction, ranking 4th among developers with 31 million daily active users for titles like Happy Aquarium, Happy Pets, It Girl, and Mighty Pirates.[1][4][5] Jeff Tseng became CEO in October 2012, succeeding Peter Relan, amid a strategic pivot: in February 2012, the company shifted from Facebook to mobile games for women, emphasizing fashion and shopping, which led to hits like Covet Fashion and Design Home.[3][4] This evolution included layoffs of Facebook developers but secured new funding and partnerships with Tencent, NHN, and Facebook; it turned down a $200+ million acquisition offer from Microsoft before Glu Mobile's 2016 buyout.[1][4]
CrowdStar rode the early 2010s wave of social and mobile gaming booms, capitalizing on Facebook's platform dominance before pivoting to app stores amid declining web games, a timing that aligned with women's growing mobile engagement in casual, aspirational content like fashion simulations.[1][3][4] It influenced the ecosystem by proving viability of female-targeted free-to-play models, inspiring competitors in the $100B+ mobile gaming market and paving the way for acquisitions that consolidated talent—its 2016 Glu Mobile buyout integrated expertise into larger players amid rising demand for genre-specific titles.[2][3][4] Market forces like smartphone proliferation and in-app monetization favored its approach, though it operated in a competitive field with Niantic, Scopely, and Playrix.[2]
Post-2016 acquisition, CrowdStar operates as inactive under Glu Mobile (now part of Electronic Arts), with its IP like Covet Fashion and Design Home likely integrated or maintained within larger portfolios, as former CEO Jeff Tseng launched DNArt in 2017.[3][4] Trends like metaverse fashion, AR try-ons, and Web3 gaming could revive similar female-focused experiences, potentially evolving its legacy through EA's resources amid a maturing $200B+ gaming industry. Its influence endures in niche gaming, underscoring how targeted entertainment for underserved audiences drives consolidation and innovation in mobile tech.
Key people at CrowdStar.
