AppOnboard scored a big deal with Google earlier this year when the partners announced AppOnboard’s tech would be used to bring playable demos directly into the Google Play store with a “try now” button. And now AppOnboard said it has raised $30 million to fuel its expansion.
The “try now” button (dubbed App Store Demos) is prominently displayed right next to the purchase or download button, bringing mobile games one step closer to instantly playable games. That helps with discovery of games in the overcrowded mobile app store.
About $15 million was raised in April from Korea Investment Partners, Mirae Asset Management, Mantaray, MTG, and Runa Capital. Additional investment came from existing investors London Venture Partners, Troy Capital Partners, and Ophir Capital Group.
And now AppOnboard has raised another $15 million from a group led by Breakaway Growth, whose team includes Paul Heydon, seed investor in Supercell. Also participating in this round are new investors Tiller Partners & Rainier Partners, and existing investors.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
The new funding is a result of the rapid growth and increasing global demand for its App Store Demos product and the AppOnboard app demo platform.
“We live in an era where users expect everything to be on-demand and at their fingertips, whether that is music, film and TV, transportation, food, home services, and more,” said Jonathan Zweig, CEO of AppOnboard, in a statement. “Apps are the final piece of digital media that are not currently on-demand, and we are excited to work with partners across the ecosystem to help solve this and power the on-demand revolution with our app demo technology.”
Above: AppOnboard has raised $15 million more than it did earlier this year.
Top global app publishers are leveraging AppOnboard app demo technology and tools to create and launch app demos fast and effectively. Previously, top developers had to commit internal engineering resources and months of development time to recreate their apps in a smaller, instant size.
“Our vision remains unchanged: that every app and game will be instant and on-demand for users to experience without a download,” said Bryan Buskas, chief operating officer at AppOnboard, in a statement. “We look forward to accelerating our growth with global developers and platform partners like Google to make this a reality for all mobile app users.”
Heydon and Chris Albinson run Breakaway Growth. Heydon was an early investor in AppOnboard and is also a longtime angel investor in the mobile and gaming space with investments in Supercell and Unity. He will also take a seat on AppOnboard’s Board of Directors. Albinson is currently chairman of omni-channel marketing platform, NinthDecimal, and was involved in early fundraising rounds of Pinterest, DocuSign, and Turo.
“The entire app store paradigm is about to change dramatically, and AppOnboard is perfectly positioned for this disruption,” said Heydon. “With its patented app demo technology and tools, users will now be able to experience their apps and games on-demand and without an install across various platforms, starting with Google.”
With the additional funds, AppOnboard also plans to expand globally in Europe and Asia with an office expansion planned in London and Seoul, specifically. AppOnboard headquarters is in Los Angeles, with two more offices in San Francisco and Seattle.
AppOnboard currently partners with Glu Mobile, FoxNext, Jam City, Kongregate, Huuuge Games, Seriously, and more. It is also offering a 30-day free trial for its App Store Demos product to any new app developer looking to build and launch a Google Play Instant app on the Google Play store. AppOnBoard has 80 employees.
