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§ Public · Las Vegas, NV, USA
Skillz is a technology company.
Skillz has raised $43.5M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Skillz.
Skillz has raised $43.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Skillz operates a leading mobile gaming platform designed to facilitate skill-based competition among players and empower game developers. The company leverages patented technology to host billions of casual mobile gaming tournaments globally, enabling developers to integrate social competition and monetize their content effectively. Its platform allows for the distribution of real-world prizes, creating an ecosystem where developers can build thriving franchises.
The company was founded in 2012 by Andrew Paradise and Casey Chafkin. Paradise and Chafkin’s collaboration at AisleBuyer preceded their venture into Skillz. They conceived the platform with an insight into the potential for widespread skill-based mobile gaming competition, aiming to provide a fair and engaging environment for players while also offering robust monetization opportunities for game creators.
Skillz serves a broad audience of mobile players worldwide seeking competitive engagement, alongside game developers looking to expand their reach and revenue streams. The company's mission is to bring out the best in everyone through competition, striving to build the world's premier competition system. This vision centers on fostering fairness and enabling both players and developers to thrive within the mobile gaming landscape.
# Skillz: Mobile Esports Platform Overview
Skillz is an online mobile multiplayer video game competition platform that integrates into iOS and Android games to enable competitive gaming experiences.[1] The company operates a marketplace where developers monetize games through tournaments, and players compete for prizes—creating a dual-sided ecosystem that benefits both creators and users.
The platform serves game developers seeking monetization solutions and mobile players looking for competitive gaming opportunities. Skillz solves the problem of how casual mobile games can sustain engagement and revenue through built-in competitive features, rather than relying solely on traditional in-app purchases or ads. The company demonstrates strong growth momentum: as of 2021, Skillz generated over $2 billion in gross marketplace volume, served over 3 million monthly active users, and hosted an average of 6 million daily tournaments, distributing over $100 million in prizes monthly.[1]
Skillz operates at the intersection of mobile gaming maturation and esports democratization. As casual mobile gaming became the largest gaming segment globally, the company identified an opportunity to inject competitive elements into games that traditionally lacked engagement mechanics. By becoming the first publicly traded mobile esports platform in 2020, Skillz legitimized competitive mobile gaming as a viable business model.[1]
The company's partnerships—including a 2021 collaboration with the NFL to develop NFL-themed mobile games and a $50 million investment in multiplayer technology company Exit Games—signal how Skillz is expanding beyond pure competition into branded entertainment and infrastructure.[1] This positions the platform as essential middleware in the mobile gaming ecosystem, influencing how developers think about monetization and player retention.
Skillz has established itself as the primary infrastructure layer for competitive mobile gaming, but faces the ongoing challenge of sustaining user engagement and developer adoption in a crowded mobile market. The company's ability to expand beyond casual games into licensed IP (like the NFL partnership) and deepen its technology moat through strategic investments suggests a path toward becoming indispensable to mobile game monetization strategies.
The future likely hinges on whether Skillz can maintain prize pool economics while scaling—balancing attractive payouts for players against sustainable unit economics for the platform. As mobile gaming continues to professionalize and audiences seek deeper engagement, Skillz's competitive infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable to developers seeking differentiation.
Skillz has raised $43.5M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $16.0M Series C in December 2017.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2017 | $16M Series C | Telstra Ventures, Bruce Dines | Accomplice VC, Ambridge Capital, Benchmark, Founders Circle Capital, FTX Ventures, General Catalyst, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Meritech Capital Partners, Tribe Capital, Wndrco LLC, Marc Lasry, Andrew Miller, Bridge Bank, Wildcat Capital Management | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2015 | $15M Series B | David Bonderman | Accomplice VC, Wndrco LLC, Dharmesh Shah, Marc Lasry, Sequoia Capital, The Kraft Group | Announced |
| Sep 26, 2014 | $6M Venture Round | Jeff Fagnan | — | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2013 | $6M Series A | Jeff Fagnan | Accomplice VC, Dharmesh Shah | Announced |
| Nov 1, 2012 | $500K Seed | — | Accomplice VC, Dharmesh Shah | Announced |
Key people at Skillz.
Skillz has raised $43.5M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Skillz's investors include Telstra Ventures, Bruce Dines, Accomplice VC, Ambridge Capital, Benchmark, Founders Circle Capital, FTX Ventures, General Catalyst, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, M13, Meritech Capital Partners.
