BlueStacks builds GamePop, an over‑the‑top mobile gaming platform designed to bring touch‑based mobile games to TVs and living rooms. The company is positioning GamePop as a white‑label solution for TV makers and cable providers and is distributing the product via deals with large cable companies, with a major partner to be announced. BlueStacks recently received new funding that the company says includes strategic partners alongside its original investors. The company acknowledges underwhelming reviews for the consumer hardware it originally planned to ship but cites strong buy‑in from top‑tier developers as a key advantage for GamePop’s future. Samsung’s venture arm invested in the round and has been advising on distribution channels, and Samsung praised BlueStacks’ work translating touch controls to TVs and remote inputs. Competition in the home gaming market from Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and new Nvidia hardware is noted in the company’s market context. BlueStacks builds an App Player and related tools that allow Android apps to run on x86 Windows PCs without modification, including a Cloud Connect feature to push apps from phones to PCs. Its patent‑pending Layercake technology enables ARM-targeted, graphics‑intensive apps to run on desktop GPUs and supports features like accelerometer tilting and pinch-to-zoom via mouse/keyboard. The company shipped a public beta that attracted more than 1 million downloads in the first 10 days and collectively ran over 12 million apps. BlueStacks partnered with developers such as Halfbrick (Fruit Ninja), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Evernote and others for the beta to demonstrate compatibility without porting. The startup’s stated goal is to open the billion‑user PC market to Android developers (roughly 450,000 Android apps) and to become a developer platform that delivers PC versions of Android apps for free. Financially, BlueStacks has secured multiple venture financings and now has over $15 million in outside investment, giving it runway to continue product development while it addresses challenges like Android fragmentation and security. BlueStacks develops an App Player and Cloud Connect Service that enable one-click access to Android apps on Windows devices and full-screen viewing. The App Player is currently in public alpha and the company plans a beta release this winter plus a paid "Pro" version offering premium apps like Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. BlueStacks says its technology works seamlessly with AMD APU-powered tablets and PCs so Android apps can leverage APU horsepower and graphics. The company reports the App Player alpha has been downloaded in more than 100 countries; Cloud Connect provides access to 250,000+ Android apps and about 30 featured apps for quick demos. BlueStacks aims to help define next-generation IT architecture so mobile apps can run ubiquitously across devices. Financially, it recently raised new capital to accelerate development of the App Player and Cloud Connect. BlueStacks builds software that enables Android applications to run on x86-based Windows machines. Founded in March 2008 and led by CEO Rosen Sharma, the company is based in Campbell, California and has global offices in India and Japan. Its core product focuses on bridging Android and Windows application ecosystems on standard PC hardware. The company emerged from stealth mode concurrent with the funding announcement. BlueStacks says it will use the new capital to further develop its Android-on-Windows technology.

Total raised

$27M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2014