Ouya raises $15M from Kleiner Perkins and Mayfield and delays launch
Ouya is just a kid on the block alongside the game consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. But it's graduating to a higher level today as the maker of the $99 Android game console is announcing that it has raised $15 million …
Context & Ripple Effects
Ouya's arc has been unusually fast for a hardware startup: a $99 hackable Android console designed by Yves Behar was unveiled in July 2012, hit its $950,000 Kickstarter goal in eight hours, and went on to pass $5M with an OnLive partnership attached. By March 2013 it had a firm retail date of June 4 at $99.
Today's $15M round from Kleiner Perkins and Mayfield converts the crowdfunding story into a conventional venture-backed one — but it comes bundled with a delay to that June 4 launch. The pickup was broad: The Next Web, TechCrunch, AllThingsD, CNET and others all carried the announcement on the same day, and it lands in the same week Sony reported its first annual profit since 2008, underscoring how hard the incumbent console business is to crack.
First-order effects
- Backers and retail partners who were told in March to expect the console on June 4 now face a slipped date, while Ouya gains $15M of runway from Kleiner Perkins and Mayfield to finish the hardware and stock channels.
Second-order effects
- The delay hands Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony a longer window before a $99 Android alternative reaches shelves, and pressures Ouya to convert its Kickstarter goodwill into launch-day content so early buyers do not drift back to incumbent ecosystems.
Third-order effects
- A crowdfunded console needing a top-tier VC round points to a structural pattern: open, hackable hardware can raise millions from fans yet still requires institutional capital and traditional retail timing to survive against platform holders that fund their boxes through software margins.
The trend: Crowdfunded game hardware is graduating into venture-scale companies, where Kickstarter momentum must be converted into conventional funding, retail distribution, and content deals to challenge entrenched console platforms.