Digital Chocolate scores $12m VC funding

Trip Hawkins’ Digital Chocolate group has received $12 million in a new financing round.

Finer details of the deal were not disclosed, though CEO Hawkins said the money would allow it to “expand its scale, cross-platform capabilities, and geographic reach”.

Digital Chocolate last year was named one of the top five global games publishers on Facebook. Together its mobile games have been downloaded over 100 million times, the firm added.

The new cash injection was led by Intel Capital, the company said, while prior investors Sutter Hill Ventures and Bridgescale Partners contributed to the new funding.

Hawkins, who founded Electronic Arts in 1982, suggested he wants Digital Chocolate to embrace the expanding range of mobile and tablet devices on the market.

“The investment from Intel Capital supports our vision of publishing leading social games across different devices and platforms,” he said.

“The strength of our team, combined with the strategic insight and support from Intel Capital and existing investors, will help extend our leadership in the evolving social gaming market.”

Intel Capital’s Mike Buckley said the firm chose to invest in Digital Chocolate “because of its success across the fastest growing digital platforms and consumer electronics device categories.”