Ouya founder denies it is seeking extra funding

Ouya founder Julie Uhrman has moved to counter statements made to Develop that the company was seeking other areas of investment as a misunderstanding.

As the hackable console approaches the $5million mark in its record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, questions have been raised over how the project will be fully funded.

Julie Uhrman previously told Develop: “This is a really big undertaking and it’s going to be expensive.

“We’re looking for additional funds of money but more importantly we wanted to take it to Kickstarter regardless."

We have since taken lengths to remove all doubt, and can confirm this is what was said.

However, Uhrman has stated this was a misunderstanding, and that it was not seeking to gain outside funds during Ouya’s Kickstarter campaign, nor is it looking to gain investment in the immediate future once the crowdfunding project has closed.

"Let me be clear, OUYA is not seeking additional funding outside of Kickstarter,” read a statement from Uhrman.

“Our priority now is to continue to focus on building a great game console while engaging in our on-going Kickstarter campaign.

"Our intent in going to Kickstarter was to raise money that would take us from functional prototype to product on the market.

"With respect to our funding, we have been candid in disclosing an early round raised through friends and family that included backing from investors like Digg founder Jay Adelson, Flixster founder Joe Greenstein, and Jawbone founder Hosain Rahman.

"We do not intend to engage in any conversations related to funding while we are on Kickstarter. And, it’s not like we are going to start speed dialling VCs as soon as the Kickstarter campaign ends.

"Once our Kickstarter campaign closes funding our priority will be getting OUYA to market, and delivering the best game experience possible. Fundraising will not be top of the list."