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MagicYard develops a cloud-based social gaming platform, turning any television into an interactive entertainment hub. It enables users to play various tabletop, party, and cooperative games directly on their TV screens. This facilitates shared experiences among friends, family, or online participants, making social gaming accessible for both casual and experienced players without dedicated console hardware.
Founded in 2022 in Tel Aviv, MagicYard was co-founded by Uriel Zecharia, Lior Sabag, and Shachar Ben-Or. Zecharia, a product leader, and Sabag, a former backend team lead, saw untapped potential in the living room television for active social engagement. Their insight aimed to elevate the TV beyond passive viewing, making it a central platform for inclusive communal gaming.
MagicYard’s platform serves a broad audience, connecting individuals through shared gaming moments, from family gatherings to online interactions. The company aims to democratize social gaming, leveraging existing TV infrastructure to make it a cornerstone of home entertainment. It envisions the television as the primary device for accessible, interactive leisure, continually uniting people through play.
MagicYard has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
MagicYard has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
MagicYard has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in July 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2022 | $2M Seed | — | INT3, Assaf Hefetz, GUY Podjarny, Yair Weinberger | Announced |
MagicYard has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
MagicYard's investors include INT3, Assaf Hefetz, Guy Podjarny, Yair Weinberger.
MagicYard is a Tel Aviv-based technology company founded in 2021-2022 that builds a social gaming platform for TVs, enabling remote multiplayer play of board games and party games to connect friends and family regardless of location.[1][2][3][4] It serves consumers seeking casual, social entertainment on smart TVs, solving the problem of physical distance by converting popular board games into digital TV experiences without setup or cleanup, while also partnering with game publishers like Asmodee.[3][4][6] The platform features games like Blanksy (fill-in-the-blank humor and drawing), Wreckless (drafting auto-battler), and Doodle Dash (team drawing and guessing), supporting over 400 million TVs, with early funding from Cardumen Capital and a small team led by CEO Uriel Zecharia and CTO Lior Sabag.[1][4]
MagicYard was founded in 2021 (with some sources noting 2022) by Uriel Zecharia, an experienced entrepreneur and product lead previously at CastPlus, alongside Lior Sabag, a CTO with a background in industrial engineering from Ben Gurion University and prior roles at Trendi Guru.[1][3] The idea emerged from a vision to revolutionize social gaming by bringing people together through TV-based play, especially post-pandemic when remote connections gained prominence, starting as a platform for hanging out with loved ones via games.[1][2][4] Early traction included raising funds from Israel-focused deep-tech VC Cardumen Capital and a key partnership with Asmodee in 2023 to digitize top board games for TV social gaming.[1][3]
MagicYard rides the social gaming and TV streaming boom, capitalizing on smart TV proliferation (over 400M units) and demand for remote social experiences post-COVID, where digital board games bridge isolation.[4][6] Timing aligns with gaming's shift to casual, cross-device multiplayer—think Jackbox on steroids for TVs—fueled by market forces like cord-cutting, Web3 gaming hype, and publisher digitization needs (e.g., Asmodee partnership).[3] It influences the ecosystem by democratizing board game ports to TVs, potentially expanding to more IPs and fostering a new "TV party gaming" niche amid AR/VR delays.[1][3][4]
MagicYard is poised to scale via publisher deals and TV OEM integrations, targeting explosive growth in social TV gaming as hybrid work/life persists. Trends like AI-enhanced gameplay, global 5G for low-latency multiplayer, and metaverse-lite social hubs will shape it, evolving from indie startup to platform leader. Its influence could redefine family entertainment, tying back to that core mission: turning any TV into a closeness engine.[2][4]
