Mind Candy is best known for the Moshi Monsters franchise and now focuses on its Moshi: Sleep and Mindfulness app. The app operates on a subscription model (about $40 per year) and has 112,000 subscribers. Management says the app is already profitable. The company is selling its Petlandia personalized storybook business to concentrate on the relaxation and bedtime story product. Funding will be used to hire additional talent and to extend growth, particularly in the U.S., the company’s largest market. Founder Michael Acton Smith stepped down as CEO in 2014, remains chairman, and later co-founded Calm. Mindcandy runs Moshi Monsters, an online virtual world where young users create and care for cartoon monsters and complete short educational puzzles across skills like maths and English. The company recently launched a paid subscription (£4.95/month or £35/year) that grants a Moshi Monsters passport and premium access. In December Moshi reached one million users, driven by early viral growth without formal marketing. Management says the subscription is making the business cash flow positive on a daily basis and that new funding should take the company to breakeven. Mindcandy has also acquired the TutPup gaming site, adding 350,000 registered users and multiplayer puzzle-battle content. The plan is to integrate TutPup into Moshi Monsters to broaden its multiplayer puzzle offerings, and the company has hired Ed Relf as Head of Marketing. Mind Candy develops Alternate Reality Games, with its flagship title Perplex City combining a story, puzzles and a real-life treasure hunt centered on the stolen Receda Cube. Perplex City distributes clues across newspapers, websites, SMS, live events, CDs and other media to create an immersive cross-media experience. The game has attracted tens of thousands of players from 92 countries and offers a six-figure prize (£100,000/$200,000). Mind Candy says Perplex City has generated several million dollars in revenue. The company plans a major expansion of new products to be announced in early 2007, including a second season, a second puzzle brand aimed at younger players, and Perplex City product lines such as books, video games and mobile content. Founded in 2003 by Michael Smith, Mind Candy intends to broaden its mainstream appeal and build additional consumer-facing brands.

Total raised

$19M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Apr 2020