Gaming company Backbone revealed Wednesday a $40 million Series A funding round led by Index Ventures with participation from Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s venture capital firm Sound Ventures, Nico Wittenborn’s Adjacent and top talent including The Weeknd, Kevin Hart, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Amy Schumer, Electric Feel Ventures, the fund of Post Malone’s management company Electric Feel Entertainment; and existing investor Christopher Comstock (known as Marshmello).
Tech CEOs including Discord’s Jason Citron, Rec Room’s Nick Fajt and Sonos’ Patrick Spence also participated in the fundraise.
Backbone was founded in 2021 by 24-year-old Google gaming employee Maneet Khaira, and launched its first product in the same year. Soon after, Backbone partnered with Microsoft to bring Xbox gaming to mobile devices, which effectively turned the Backbone One device into a portable Xbox.
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With Backbone One, players simply plug their iPhone into the device that allows them to access App Store and Apple Arcade gaming titles and stream games through services such as Xbox Game Pass and Luna.
“With new core games on the App Store, enhanced cloud gaming services, and the growing popularity of console remote play, Backbone will continue to act as a throughline and connective tissue between all the unique experiences players can have on mobile devices,” said Khaira in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
He added: “With this new investment, we’ll be growing our team to help us continue to improve our products and services, with the goal of making the absolute best experience for the player. We also have plans to expand our distribution with new retail partners as well as partnerships with major companies in the gaming and entertainment spaces. Stay tuned!”
The Backbone One device is compatible with all gaming platforms, while the corresponding app can be used to stream games to Twitch, edit clips and chat with other players.
